


His Wildflower

by kylokenn



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Book 5: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Hogsmeade, Hogwarts, Love Triangles, Original Character(s), Smut, The Burrow (Harry Potter), Witches, Wizards
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-16 08:28:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 38
Words: 60,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29573196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kylokenn/pseuds/kylokenn
Summary: Poppy is from Salem, an American witch. VERY American. But as she finds herself a new transfer to Hogwarts, new friendships are formed and romance blooms. Presented with quite a few options, who will she choose?
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Original Female Character(s), Fred Weasley/Original Female Character(s), Harry Potter/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 3





	1. The Commune

Mom died 2 years ago, when I was 14. They said her death was quick, a potion gone wrong. She meant to add ground oak, but reached for a mislabeled bottle of pine instead, her cauldron overheated and exploded into her, killing her instantly. She was dead before she hit the ground.

The pain of her absence isn't so loud anymore, it's mostly subdued. I still miss her, of course, but when she died, it's like Dad died with her. I lost two parents that day and feel lonelier than ever. While I was always closer with Mom than Dad, we decided to deal with our grief alone, not knowing how to function around each other. It was like Dad and I were planets, and mom was our Sun. Dad and I spend our time avoiding each other, mostly. Moving through the cottage in ways we know won't disrupt the other, or even interact with each other. We shut around the house; like forces who may explode should they interact. I found myself mixing more potions, trying to find an herb mix that would dull the pain; or at least my senses. The loneliness isn't overwhelming anymore, just entirely too cold.

My name is Poppy Dove Kennedy, and I'm from Salem, Massachusetts. My family has been in the New England area for generations, but those of us with "the curse" have relocated to Salem, to be with others of our kind. Kennedy's come from a long line of old money; with lots of power as an elitist family. But when the Kennedy's found out Dad was a witch, after he accidentally shattered the 7th door during a tantrum, Grandmother sent him with her sister to Salem, hiding him from the world. She told people he fell ill, and died, and promptly cut off all contact with him. The Kennedy's have a reputation to uphold, one that not even family can get in the way of.

So Dad came here with his Aunt Genevieve when he was 9 years old and has been here ever since. However; mom's family came from a long line of witches, her bloodline dating back to Susan Wildes, one of the very first Salem Witches. He and Mom were high school sweethearts, they met at a sacrifice, hands touching when they went to make an offering at the same time, their eyes locked, and the rest is history. It's all very gross, and extremely cliche. Anyway, they dated, got married before the community, and I was born 9 months later in a field of wildflowers. Hence, the name Poppy.

While my situation is perfectly pleasant, for all intents and purposes, I live in a hippie commune. At least that's what the regulars call us. Dad works at a university in Boston as a botany professor, and I overheard his coworker call us that when I went with him to work. I wasn't quite sure what a hippie was, but Dad explained it fairly well. But this worked well for our community. We were family after all, and if the world knew what we were capable of we'd be shunned. We clearly learned after the Salem Witch Trials.

The muggles obviously can't know of our gifts, but I guess the sacrifices, herbal hallucinogenics, and cult like commune make us kind of weird to others. I don't mind though. It was nice having a large family growing up. I don't have any other siblings, just the 13 other kids my same age, we refer to each other as Mint class. Since the commune has been around it's just been an easy way for the elders to identify the younglings. We don't mind, it's like having a fun club of built in best friends.

Mom was my teacher, all the younger generations learned from familial witches or wizards. I once asked why we didn't go to school once, and mom just said that our powers were determined by blood. I didn't quite understand, but also I didn't care to. So while I was homeschooled by mom, some of Mint class was homeschooled by their own parents. Mom taught 3 others in Mint class as well, since their parents worked in the city like Dad. We all grew rather fond of eachother, and were fiercely protective of one another.

Lessons with mom were always so fun. I liked to focus on herbology and potions mostly, since my family believes in a deeper connection to the land than most. With magic, nature, and humans all being intertwined, working to unite and form a balance. Each family in the commune likes to have "concentrations," it helps make the community well rounded. Some focus on sacrifices, other on astronomy and crystals, but the Kennedy's love their potions.

Anyway, once mom died, dad drove himself deep into his botany research, leaving me alone to smoke shrooms and lay at the beach. I was fine dealing with my grief through the world, exploring my inner mind as I felt the grass brush against my skin or trying to focus on just all the pieces of the sand on my skin. But dad had other ideas.

I guess he's a better botanist than I thought, or maybe the grief drove him to work harder than usual. Since his work dealt with potions and not, he was rather well published in the American Wizard community, and a rockstar to the commune. But he decided to send his research article to some newspaper called the Quibbler, and some rather unexciting research papers to other journals across the world.

From there it got published and he became rather well known in England. He got offered some job at a place called the Ministry of Magic in a department that covers Herbology? Honestly, I don't care. He told me about the job, and ruined my life. Well kore then it was already ruined. No more beach days, or Salem, or sacrifices. He said I have to go back to school, a real school. But I feel my heart break at the thought of leaving the community behind. He says it'll be good for me, but how good can it be to leave my mothers spirit thousands of miles away? To leave her body in Salem, leave Mint class, and Aunt Genevieve?

So, here I am, 17 and going on an airplane for the first time. Leaving my candles, herbs, and casting stones behind, all for some shit hole called Hogwarts.


	2. Diagonal Alley

It's October. It's wet. Why is this country so god damned wet?

You and Dad had spent the last 2 days using a port key to move your stuff between Salem and his new flat in London. You've never used a port key before, but Dad promised you that he has plenty of times for work trips. The old frying pan is making you nauseous, and after every run you have to spend about 10 minutes throwing up, before you're able to collect myself. The port key made your insides twist, and you could feel yourself being ripped apart a thousand times as you moved through space. 

Dad was getting fed up with your constant sickness, and eventually he started working on the move himself. You laid back on his couch in his new flat, eyes closed, trying to breathe, when you feel a piece of paper land on your face. You open my eyes to darkness, and remove the letter which was blocking the light. 

"The school sent it to Salem, not our new address," Dad explains

You examine the letter and see that it's from Hogwarts, you rip open the acceptance letter, and scan it quickly. You discard the letter, keeping the school shopping list.

You sit up and figure that you may as well get started on this, seeing as you're not very useful to the move.

With the school list in hard, Dad informs you that you can use his fireplace to go Diagonal Alley? It's the middle of the semester, so he said you'd have a quicker time as the shops aren't overrun. Dad shoves you inside the small fireplace, which really has to be squat in as its rather small. As you try to balance yourself on bent legs, Dad throws a handful of ash at your legs and suddenly you'e gone. You open my eyes to see that you're standing in a dark shop. You manage to stand on balanced feet and walk to the street.

Fireplace travel was weird. The port key was weird. The school list was weird.

What the fuck is a robe for?  
Why do I need 8 books?  
What is a pet for?  
A cauldron? Already have one...  
And a fucking wand?

This list is a joke.

I've never in my life worn a school uniform, let alone a bathrobe. 

While the book list seemed interesting, it covered more topics than you've even heard about. Subjects you couldn't even comprehend. Potions and Astronomy were straight forward, but transfiguration? Divination?

You quickly decided to pass on a pet, seeing as you don't really want to have to take care of something all year long, and owning a creature seems kind of vile. Of course there were "pets" at the community, but they were free roaming, and they all had a purpose. Like chickens, and goats.

Well except Sunny, but he was a feral cat who belonged to the land, and all just accepted him as family, feeding him and letting him hang around should he choose.

Anyway. The wand must be a mistake. You've heard of other witches and wizards using them from dad, and movies, but never touched one in real life. It seemed rather out of touch. 

What kind of magic would you be learning? 

You didn't use them in the community. You didn't need to. You were all self sufficient, your magic has a purpose, why use a wand when you can use your hand? Or even a curse?

At any sorts, you fly through the list with relative ease. Turns out they aren't bathrobes, rather a sort of cloak that you wear over my uniform? Honestly it looks so dorky. The uniform is less atrocious, though rather dull as far as color, it reminded you of the movie Matilda. A few plaid skirts, some sweaters, and collared shirts now fill the bag along with the cloaks. The woman who worked the store told you she could apparat them back to Dad's flat but that seemed so useless, plus you didn't know what she meant. 

As you marked off more and more items from the list, you were left with the last most daunting one. A wand.

You headed to the store listed on the shopping list that dad had scribbled in. 

Olivander's.

Upon entry, you were blown away. While the shops had all been completely... magical. Olivander's had an aesthetic that was warm and comforting, reminding you of a book nook or old library. An audible gasp escaped your lips. Shelves lined the walls. Boxes were everywhere. It was dimly lit, but rather quaint. An older man came around the corner and addressed you as if you'd known each other your whole lives.

"Kennedy, Poppy Kennedy!"

"He-hello. Are you Olivander?"

"Well of course, dear. The one and only," he responds with light in his eyes.

You shakily hand over the class list to the graying man, and he laughs.

"Ms. Kennedy, of course I know what you need. I sense a large deal of uncertainty within you, but lots of strength and confidence nonetheless. We will find a wand suitable of your talents."

From behind you comes a large crack, as if the earth had split in half, and you jump, preparing for the worst.

You turned around expecting a gapping hole in the building, maybe even some bullet holes, just to see Dad standing in the doorway instead. He smiles at you and informs you that he wanted to help finish your shopping.

Your heart warms at the sight of him. He seems happier than you remember, giddy almost. While it fills you with grief to think of all the times you had avoided each other recently; it seemed like the change of scenery was treating him well.

You turn back to Olivander's counter to see he had placed 4 boxes in front of you. Out of confusion you ask if you have to build your own wand.

Dad chuckles, "this isn't the same as a lightsaber, Poppy. No kyber crystal needed."

You laugh back at him and slowly unbox the first wand. It was rather long, and quite heavy despite its thin appearance. You felt a coldness in your hands, and shivered before putting it back.

With peculiar eyes Olivander, pushes the third box closer towards you, and puts box one and two back.

"I feel a lighter wand will suit you best. This one is slightly smaller than the last as far as length goes, and considerably less heavy. It's got a Phoenix core. Very rare. But it has great potential, should the owner posses these same traits."

In your hand the wand felt warm and you feel a surge of electricity run through your body. Fear and excitement coursed through your veins all the same. You looked up to see Olivander's eyes dancing.

"I see we have a match."

From there, you placed the wand in your messenger bag, unsure what else to do with it, and thanked the kind man before dad and you stroll out of the store.

"He seems weird, but undeniably kind, and clearly well educated," Dad remarks next to you.

You nod in agreement, still trying to process my day.

The two of you stop for food on the way home, deciding on fish and chips. Bags in hand, Dad reaches out for you and you feel warmth in your stomach as he holds your hand on the journey back to his flat.

Tomorrow is a new beginning. For the better or worse, you're unsure. Your second day in London wasn't bad. But the thought of Hogwarts makes your stomach churn. 

To new adventures.


	3. Sorting Hat

Dad and you said our goodbyes an hour ago. You walked back to Diagon Alley (apparently not diagonal alley!), and towed the trunk behind you, as you made my way to the Leaky Cauldron. You were to meet a man by the name of Hagrid, and he would ensure your arrival to your new home.

A beast of a man blocked your entrance to the restaurant, and he turned with a rather large grin.

"Poppy!" He exclaimed as he threw his arms around you.

You stood in shock, who was this? Your lips gaping as you searched his face for an answer.

He laughed heartily as he saw your confusion. "Hagrid!!" He proclaimed. "I'm your ride to Hogwarts! My how you've grown!"

"Grown?" you said as you looked down.

"Grown! I was yer mom's friend when we were young! Didn't ya know? We studied abroad together!"

Your face gleamed at the remark of mom. You didnt know much about her life before the commune, and dad and you drifted apart after her death, leaving you unable to go to him with questions anyway.

"Alex was brilliant! I met her on a school trip to the Galápagos Islands. We didn't go to school together, but I guess our professors had some sort of working relationship and we met on a joint trip to study magical creatures," he remarked as we climbed onto his motorcycle.

You climbed into the side car and listened to endless stories about the adventures she took there. Enjoying the breeze on your face and the sunlight on your skin.

After what felt like mere seconds, you began your descent. You peered over the walls of the sidecar and saw a castle come into view. It was beautiful. Pillars. Stones. Endless gardens. A full Forrest. And a stunning lake.

It took your breathe away. Or was it the thin air above the clouds?

"We're here! Hogwarts! The one and only!" Hagrid beamed. "I'll send your stuff inside with an elf and we'll make our way to the Headmaster before dinner!"

You felt your knees buckle. This was it.

You started inside and your eyes wandered the halls. Taking in the moving portraits, the tall ceilings, and the ghosts who ran rampant. You were in awe at the relatively empty halls. Hagrid informed you the other students were in their final class for the day.

As you came upon a staircase which appeared out of nowhere, you moved up the stairs and came head first with an old man.

"Ah Hagrid, and Ms. Kennedy," he breathed.

"Dumbledore! This here is Poppy!" Hagrid said.

"Poppy we're excited about your arrival here. I'm aware this may be rather... overwhelming for you. I've gathered from your file that your training in Salem was rather different than what we do here. Do not fear, due to your lack of education in certain fields we'll have you in a variety of classes until we can determine the best fit for you. While you're technically a 6th year, we will assign you to some lower level classes until we can properly place you. I've also assigned a tutor to help you advance in your studies. She's rather brilliant, you're in good hands. She'll be here before dinner and escort you to our dining area, you can sit with her until we sort you into your house. Her name is Hermoine Granger. She's a year younger than you, but is very successful in her studies, and I have full faith in her to have you where you need to be by semesters end," Dumbledore finished.

As he finished speaking you heard a quiet huffing from behind you and turned to see a girl of average stature. She had brown hair, curly, and was struggling to catch her breathe.

"Sorry I'm late Headmaster, I had to run here from Hagrid's hut, I promised him I'd take care of Buckbeak this afternoon," the girl said between breathes."

You reached your hand out and introduced yourself. "Hello, my name is Poppy Dove Kennedy. You must be Hermoine."

Hermoine swiftly took your hand to shake it. And you followed her out of Dumbledore's office. 

"Welcome! When Dumbledore informed me of a student to tutor I was rather disappointed to be honest. I often find myself so busy with school work and the boys that I don't have much downtime. But it is so nice to meet you! And I'm so excited to learn about the United States!! Hagrid said he knew your mom, and told us about your community. I must say I am rather intrigued to hear about it. My parents are muggles, and they took me on a vacation to Chicago once for a dentistry convention, but that is the extent of my American travels!"

As you wandered into the great hall you found yourself enjoying Hermoine's company. She was rather sweet, and upon further inspection you found her rather beautiful. You could see how appealing she was, especially as she opened up to you.

You followed Hermoine and sat in the spot next to her, and observed the candles floating above, completely in awe at the beauty of the room. Students filed in and started to be seated, when you felt the bench shift under you, you looked to see Hermoine standing to wave at some boys.

The two men approached and sat directly across from you both. One with firey red hair and pale skin looked to Hermoine, "the American!" He pointed.

"Poppy, this is Ronald Weasley. And this is Harry Potter," she introduced you and you reached to shake each hand.

"Hagrid told us much about you! Any friend of his is a friend of mine," said Harry. He had a sweet face, with glasses that looked surprisingly handsome on him. He had black hair and fair skin, though not as fair as Ron's. He was attractive in a innocent way, and you immediately felt comfortable in their presence.

Lost in thought, you were poked by Hermoine who glanced at the podium ahead. Dumbledore was up front introducing a new transfer student, just running through the same information that had been discussed in his office. At the end of his speech he informed the students of your sorting, the only one for the night as it was mid semester. With shaky knees you began the walk towards the front. This was more people than the entire commune, you thought, and you weren't used to this many eyes on you. You guessed there were easily 800 kids here, maybe more.

You hastily walked to the front of the hall, and looked around to see hundreds of eager eyes. Everyone else knew what was happening but you were unsure what to expect. There was a roar of whispers and comments as you walked towards Dumbledore.

"American-

Bloody fit she is...

Doubt she'll be a Ravenclaw, Americans are rather daft"

Dumbledore came behind you and whispered that nothing was needed on your part, just a clear mind, as he gently pushed you to the stool up front. You let my legs collapse, and tried to avoid the stares.

With that, you felt a weight on your head. You could feel your dark brown curls collapsing, cursing under your breathe as you knew your hair was ruined.

"Rather vain are we?" a voice said almost inaudibly.

"N-no? I just worked rather long on it, is all.." you whisper back.

"Hmmm, moving on then. I sense a great deal of confliction within you but a rather large heart. Loyalty.. honest... fair... but bold, no modesty there... peculiar. HUFFLEPUFF!!!"

A loud roar of cheer begins and you can't help but feel confusion as well as excitement fill you. You look over to your new friends and see the three of them cheering. You send a small wave their way, sending a smile back.

You get off of the stool and are led to a long table of gold and applause. Within moments you're hugged and embraced by these new people. You feel a little sad to be separated from Hermoine, and the only 3 friends you have. But the warmth of your new house is contagious, the smiles and welcoming spirit radiating around you.

This isn't the family you expected, but their comfort is contagious and you feel at home nonetheless.


	4. Hufflepuff

After a dinner of Shepard's pie, chicken legs, and more cranberry tarts than you can handle, you hazily follow the rest of the students to your common room near the kitchens. The group passes house elves along the way and you're amazed at the tiny creatures. You've never seen anything quite like them, and you stop to say hello and observe their beautiful nature.

The creatures are quite helpful, and show you the trick to entering the common room. A simple pattern must be tapped onto some barrels which allow you access to a bright yellow room, with plants filling the corners, and large windows allowing access to the night sky. The room smells of patchouli and vanilla.

Your mouth gapes and you suddenly feel at ease, all fear and nervousness washing away.

There's a tap on your shoulder and you are suddenly face to face with a blonde girl with a shoulder length hair. She's taller than you, with doe like eyes, and some freckles plaster her face. Her face reminds you of sunshine.

"Emily Diggory," she proclaims as she extends a hand towards you. "I'm your built in best friend! Well roommate technically, but we'll definitely be friends."

"Poppy Dove Kennedy," you respond. Taking her hand and following her to the shared room.

She leads you to a room with four 4-poster beds, all with gold and black bedding. Emily explains to you that all the other beds are empty, just you and her will bunk together. Hufflepuff is a rather large house she explains, but when her cousin died last year, Dumbledore allowed her to room alone as she dealt with the grief. 

Emily didn't explain much about his death, but you could tell from her expressions just how much she adored Cedric. They grew up together she explained, and his death affected her heavily. 

Her voice was liquid gold and you loved her already.

You and Emily were excited to bunk together, and she was excited to fill the lonely void she had been experiencing.

You both talked and talked, long into the night. After comparing schedules the girls realized they wouldn't have any classes together, besides a study hall after lunch. Emily was a talker, but you didn't mind. Her voice was soothing, and as you gossiped on her bed about fellow students and any professors you may encounter, you found yourself dozing off, your head on Emily's shoulder cuddling each other under the covers.

It wasn't romantic, but it was lovely. The warmth of another person, and her scent of lilacs was enough for us to both fall asleep, wrapped together in a sweet embrace.

The next morning you woke up to Emily's soft snores and you giggled as you shoved her awake.

She turned to you and laughed as she swiped drool from her cheek.

"It's been a while since I've felt truly happy"

"Unfortunately, same." You respond, knowing the loneliness your new friend felt.

The two of you got dressed, with Emily showing you how to properly wear the robes. You left your long hair wild, fluffing some mousse through the waves and finger curling whatever sections you could. You grabbed some mascara and rubbed a little lip on your cheeks. Once you looked at yourself in the mirror, you giggled. You felt like a school girl you'd see in a porn, short skirt, knee high socks, and a sweater that was far too fitted for your tastes.

You stepped out of the bathroom and Emily gasped.

"Dude! You'd stop traffic!!"

"This feels wrong," you retorted. "I miss my flare jeans and birks," you groaned at her.

"Birks?"

"Birkenstock's? They're like sandles," you giggled.

"Well either way, you look great! Cmon, we'll stop by the kitchen to grab a muffin since we're running late and I'll show you to your first class!"

"Ponpa!!!" Emily called as soon as you excited the common room.

A small house elf turned around, food in hand. "Good morning, Emily! You must be Poppy."

You both smiled and exchanged pleasantries, grabbing some pastries off her tray as you headed off.

"Beautiful creatures," you silently remarked.

Emily agreed, before quickly informing you of the controversy surrounding them. You couldn't believe rich families enslaved them. Disgust filled you. And you began to feel guilty for their role here at Hogwarts.

"Don't worry, Poppy. Hufflepuffs love the house elves; some richer students use them quite repulsively, but most of the population is turning away from the barbaric nature. Hogwarts house elves are rather happy, I think our common rooms being the closest really help them. Can you imagine if they worked near Slytherins?" she said with a giggle, hoping to ease the tension.

Emily showed you to your first class, a herbology class in the greenhouse. She explained that it's usually two houses to a class but since your schedule was weird, you'd most likely have classes with a wide variety of students. As you said your goodbyes, you peered around before spotting a familiar head of curls.

"Poppy!" Exclaimed Hermoine, calling you over to her.

You bounded over to her and the familiar boys and greeted them. Ron mumbled a hello through some chocolate and Harry got up to hug you at once.

"Oh!" You giggled, "I didn't know you were a hugger!" 

"He's not," Ron giggled from behind you.

You looked at Harry's face growing red, and smiled to yourself. You sat next to Hermoine and the boys, and quickly became acquainted with the lesson. Simple identification, with some new plants being introduced as well. It turned out you'd have most of your classes with Hermoine this semester; besides Potions, which you had with seventh years, and Astronomy which you had alone. That was okay though; you knew you'd make friends quickly.

Your herbology class was interesting; you met a nice man named Neville who really knew what he was doing. Between him and Hermoine helping, you felt confident you'd move up in no time. The other students in the class were Slytherins. Emily didn't seem too fond of their house. And you weren't sold either based on their reputation to the house elves alone.

As Neville explained to you the best way to remove a mandrake, you heard shuffling and the two of you looked over to see Harry arguing with a taller blonde boy. After some close observations you could feel the tension growing in the room, the hatred they both felt spewing across the room. Profanities being thrown in the process. 

"What is a blood traitor?" You asked Neville.

"Rather nasty phrase if you ask me. It's a derogatory term used for wizards who sympathize with non pure bloods."

"Pure blood?"

"Pure blood is a term for wizards who have a 'clean bloodline'. Tell me, are your parents wizards?"

"Yes. But they were outcast because of it, well Dad at least. I don't know about Mom."

"Well that would make you a half blood; like Harry there!"

"Weird."

"Truly," Neville agreed.

You both turned your attention back to the dueling pair seeing wands raised. Harry had a fire in his eyes, the blonde boy, who you learned was Draco, had his raised as well. Draco was fine looking. Blonde and pale, with fierce blue eyes, about the same height as Harry. Maybe half a foot taller than you?

You weren't sure what the argument was about, but eventually shoving came. And once Hermoine got up so did you. The two of you bounded over to the boys and stood between them, you grabbed Harry and pulled him back while Hermoine scolded him and Ron for feeding into Draco's tactics.

"Letting your American girlfriend stop the fun, Potter? Pity," Draco retorted and you felt his eyes graze over at you.

"Leave Poppy out of it Malfoy, she's just a friend, and she doesn't need to deal with the likes of you, but surely you know I can" Harry spat.

The three of you sat back down, and Hermoine continue to lecture the boys for being childish. As class came to a close, Hermoine looked over your schedule and saw you had astronomy next. She said she was off to the library after this period and offered to walk you to the tower. Harry quickly spoke up to offer that he walk you instead. You gushed at the attention he was giving you and agreed to his offer.

As you two walked to the astronomy tower, you took no time in chatting away.

Harry, you learned, was quite a big deal in the wizarding world. You found his stories interesting, and his bravery in dealing with it all to be charming. You didn't know much about the war; but you had heard of Voldemort from your parents briefly. You admitted to Harry that you were honestly quite sheltered in the commune you were raised in. 

"Tell me about your life in Salem," he begs.

At the sound of his request, you can't help but dive into your favorite stories of Mint class and the previous life you lived. 

Harry finds your community interesting, asking questions about the type of magic you did, and how magic without a wand even worked. You explain to him the way the forces are connected, with living beings all having some magic that flows through them, it just needs to be found. You tell him of the Poppy field you miss so much, and the afternoons you'd spend with Mint class lying there, taking hallucinogens to help grant you the visions that you craved.

Harry looks at you with wonder, and your heart flutters at the gaze and warmth he gives to you. As you near the Astronomy tower, you pass Emily and you stop to introduce her to Harry.

"Poppy, I know Harry!" Emily laughs. "Harry was friends with Cedric."

"Hello Emily," Harry mumbles, "I'm sorry about Cedric."

"Harry, don't be sorry. I'm okay. Poppy here has been a great friend though, I hope you're being nice to her as well! It'd be a pity if the Chosen One made my friend run back to America!"

"Don't worry, Emily, I will take great care of Poppy," he says as he throws an arm around your shoulder with a laugh.

Emily raises an eyebrow at you, and you feel the heat rise to your cheeks.

"Well Potter, that may be, but it's my bed she slept in last night..." she finally says with a wink.

You giggle at Emily's response, and as she walks away Harry gawks at you for a minute before finding his words. 

"Oh Poppy, I- I'm sorry if I read this wrong. I hadn't realized about you and Emily," he stammered.

"Don't worry Harry! While I love Emily, it isn't like that. She's just my closest friend. Plus I like my women with longer hair, I need something to hold on to," you retort with a devilish grin.

Harry's face grew red and you could sense the heat coming off him from your words. You giggle at his response and utter disbelief.

You squeeze his hand before heading up to the Astronomy Tower.

"Goodbye Harry. I hope to see you soon."


	5. Astronomy

As you continue your ascent to the Astronomy Tower you can feel your chest constricting as it struggles to find air. 

"Jesus Christ is this long," you mutter to yourself as you continue climbing the spiralling steps.

"What an unexpected but rather... erotic thing to say," someone says behind you.

As you stop and turn you see the same blonde man from your previous class, Draco.

"He-Hello Draco. Poppy." you breathe, still struggling to find air.

"Oh I'm well aware of your status Poppy. Pretty half-blood like yourself, coming all the way from Salem. The whole schools buzzing about you. And with good reason," he replies as his eyes trail your legs. "Surely you aren't Potter's new arm candy though? He's got a thing for the Weasley girl you know."

"Weasley? I've only met Ron?"

"Ginny's her name. The Weasley clan multiplies faster than rabbits. There's got to be about 25 of them by now."

"Huh," is all you can mutter between breaths. Harry seems rather genuine, and he seemed interested enough in you, flirty at least. But it was just one day you think, and decide to brush it off. Who are you to decide how he feels?

"You are much more attractive than the Weasley girl if it's any consolation. Potter is rather blind though."

You laugh at his glasses joke, and continue your ascent.

"Thanks, Draco. But I'm okay."

As the two of you near the top of the tower, you look around to see no familiar faces, besides Draco's. But Draco is gone, having moved to sit near a boy named Blaise. You shrug it off and find a seat near the back. The class is interesting enough, it keeps your interest as best it can. But you find yourself catching glances at Draco, your eyes subconsciously shifting to him. He is rather attractive, and quite witty. You appreciated that about him, while he may seem hostile, to you he just seemed honest with his thoughts, there's no shame in that, it's a fault you find in yourself as well.

As class drags on you begin to day dream, becoming rather sleepy in the process. Time change was catching up with you, and boy was it a bitch. Upon your third yawn, you rest your cheek on your hand and look to see Draco faking a yawn too. As your eyes catch his, he sends a wink your way. Your stomach drops at his blue eyes, feeling butterflies immediately.

You always were one to fall a little too quick. You couldn't help it. Was it a typical hippie thing to do or your accepting Hufflepuff traits that did it? At any point you didn't mind it. You loved to find solstice in other. And with the death of Mom, you found the love to be less and less prominent. 

Maybe Hogwarts was good for you, and maybe London was good for Dad. You both had been through so much this year, that the change of scenery only seemed to be doing good, slowly stitching back together the girl you were.


	6. Potions and Puffs

You managed to find my way to Potions class, though you haven't the slightest idea as to how. 

Upon entering the class you were greeted with familiar scents of valerian root, wormwood, and peppermint. You loved potions, and you loved the familiarity a cauldron brought you as you touched its cracked edge. Potions was your strongest memory of mom, and a subject you felt confident in. 

The potions class appeared to have more Gryffindor this time, though no sight of Hermoine, Ron, or Harry. As soon as you thought this, you spotted a familiar head of fiery red hair and bounded towards it. Excited to have a friend here.

"Ron! I didn't know you'd be here!" you yelled as you quickly sat in the empty seat next to the redhead.

"Erm, hey love, wrong Weasley," you hear with a chuckle.

You look to your right to see the redhead's face for the first time. Though strikingly similar, to Ron, it was indeed, not Ron. 

"Oh! So-sorry," was all you muttered as you got back up. Embarrassed at what had just happened.

You heard a laugh come from behind you and you turned to see double. 

"You must be Poppy Dove." said the boy behind you. "I'm George, and I see you've met Fred."

You turn to see them both smiling the same smile at you. And begin to apologize as you started towards another table,

"It's no worry, Poppy. You can sit with us. Dad told us of your arrival anyway. He works at the Ministry of Magic with your Dad, different departments though," said Fred.

You sat back down next to Fred, while George grabbed a chair from another table, setting it on Fred's other side. As the greasy haired Professor walked in you felt a rush of warmth hit your neck, and soon heard the whisper that followed.

"Keep your head low, Dovey, but eyes open. You won't want to miss this," Fred whispered in your ear.

Your back straightened at this nickname, Dovey? 

Soon enough you heard claps of thunder overhead and a warm wetness hit your face. Rain. You looked up to see the ceiling had turned dark, with little bolts of light running across the ceiling, and the sweet scent of rain filled the room. You kept your face to the ceiling and closed your eyes, enjoying the warm rain hit your face and soak your clothes. You loved the rain. You cherished the rain. It seemed to revitalize you, and the twins contagious laughter next to you didn't help. You let a smile escape your lips.

Soon enough the professor was guiding students out of the room to avoid anymore chaos while he cleaned the mess, and you quickly gathered your things, following the crowd out. 

"C'mon Poppy, we're done for!!!" they screamed and the three of you rain the halls, avoiding the punishment they knew was coming.

"Well Poppy, this is it. We're off to hide in the castle, don't plan on letting Snape kill us yet," exclaimed George with a little salute.

"No way! Come on, we can all hide out in my room, I can't go back after running out with you fools. Plus I need to change out of these clothes," you say glancing down at your now sheer shirt. 

"Eyes up, Freddie!" snickers George. Fred punches George's arm. 

"Mate, I don't say that stuff to you in front of Oliver!" Fred responds. 

"Who's Oliver?" you ask naively.

You glance at George to see his face growing bright red. "Well cat's out of the bag," he mumbles.

"OLIVER, is George's faavoritteeee eye candy," says Fred, winking at your direction.

"It's okay George, your secret is safe with me. And I'm not one to judge, love is love," you respond hoping to ease his uncomfortable dispassion. 

George smiles at you sincerely and gives you a light hug, "You're not too bad Poppy."

As the three of you make your way to your dorm, your contagious laughter can be heard from across the castle. You show the boys into the common room and up your room. Emily is perched on her bed and welcomes the twins.

As the group of you explain what happened in potions class, Emily's face fills with a grin and soon you're all doubled over in laughter at the thought of the students screaming in fear.

"Snape will kill you both next time he sees you!" she says through a fit of giggles.

"Ole Snape won't do anything, he's too busy cowering at Umbridge!!" responds George.

You all sit on the beds and listen to the three of them talk about other infamous Weasley pranks. You reflect on how fun the twins are, and appreciate the nerve they both have for following through with their pranks.

As they continue story time, you reach into the wardrobe and grab an oversized sweater and some leggings. And begin to strip your damp clothes off, feeling the warmth of your sweater in your hands. As you continue to change, you feel eyes on your bare back.

"Hey Dovey, did you forget about us?" Fred asks as you slip off your skirt and slide a leg into your leggings.

"Erm- no?" you respond with confusion.

"I'm not going to complain, it's just rather odd for you to change in front of people you've just met. Not very British of you," he chuckles through a growing red face.

"I hadn't considered that. I can change in the bathroom if that makes you all more comfortable? It's just not something we did back home. Very untraditional witches compared to you lot, I suppose."

You get your clothes and move to finish changing in the bathroom, hoping to ease the awkward situation you just put them in. After a quick wardrobe change, you open up your toiletry bag, grab a pre-rolled joint and cast a small spell to light the tip of it with your wand. This was so far the only use of your wand, but damn was it helpful. You took a few puffs, and as you went to put out the joint, the door slowly creaked open. It was George.

"Fred, I told you Poppy was holding out!" George exclaimed.

The joint was quickly taken from your hand and was being passed around the group before you could even sit back down. As the weed began to ease over the room, conversation grew a little lazy.

"George said the Americans have the best weed... I guess he was right," said Fred.

Emily had her head in George's lap and was drifting off as he was braiding her hair. A familiar dull snore began as she succumbed to sleep.

"While the commune's weed IS impeccable, it's really the mushrooms we are known for. But the joint we smoked wasn't just weed, it had some lavender and rose in it as well. I find it to be a really soothing mix."

Before you can even finish, a small snore comes from Emily's direction and see her now asleep on her bed. 

You turn your attention back to the twins who are deep in conversation. They have a habit of pranks you realize, and are rather different from Ron. While they all bear the same bright hair, Fred and George are incredibly smart you realize, and you're completely amazed at the extent of pranks they've pulled, and the amount of potions and spells they've invented to fulfill the fun tasks. Fred and George have a sort of nerve to them, and courage. Whereas you haven't really seen Ron's bravery, you assume it to be there, a necessity to be Harry's friend you suppose.

You soon realize it's near the end of the day, when you hear your stomach grumble from hunger. George shakes Emily awake, a familiar pang of hunger hitting him as well. You giggle at Emily's predictable sleep habits as you spot a small spot of drool on her pillow. 

The four of you make your way to the great hall, and you overhear Emily complimenting Georg'e braiding ability, as he quickly helped her become presentable before dinner.

You enter the Great Hall and feel a warm breathe against your ear.

"Until next time Dovey"

A nickname only one has given you say far, and you look up to see Fred's brown eyes peering down at you.

"okay," you breathe out, before following Emily to the Hufflepuff table, away from the Twins.


	7. Hogsmeade

As Saturday rolls around, you feel the excitement in the air around you. The weekend is finally here, and talk of a day at Hogsmeade is all anyone can think about. Dad had already signed your form and sent it to Dumbledore when he enrolled you, so all you have to do is get dressed and find Hermoine.

It's late October now, a few weeks having past since your first day, and the weather is throwing quite cold. You search through your wardrobe to find some bellbottom jeans, a form fitting white tank top, and a long black cardigan to go over top. This is your favorite outfit. And weekends have quickly become your favorite days, when you can disregard the robes and forget about how terrible you are in class. In the bathroom you fix your long hair, following the typical hair routine, throwing on some mascara, and finally spraying some perfume on the nape of your neck.

As you step out of the bathroom, you glance at Emily. She's donned in a sweater dress and booties. So cute! She nervously looks at you for approval.

"Emily, you look beautiful!! Blaise won't know what hit him!" you exclaim as she visibly relaxes.

"I'm just SO nervous. I've never been on a date before. And with a Slytherin! I'm dreading all the gossip that will come from this when they see us."

"Em, chill. Blaise is sweet. And he obviously likes you. It'll be great. I promise. And if Pansy has any comments to make, let me know, I'll hex her," you say with a wink. 

Emily laughs at me, us both knowing you can barely levitate your quill, let alone hex someone.

____________________________

As you walk towards the Gryffindor Common Room, you quickly spot Hermoine out front with Harry and Ron. The three of them quickly greet you, and Hermoine runs through her game plan of the Hogsmeade trip, needing parchment and begging for new books.

As Hermoine searches her bag for her scarf, you turn to Ron.

"Ron, I didn't know you had brothers! I have potions with them, met them a few weeks ago!"

"Ah, George did mention that day! When they set a storm in the room!"

"Yes! It was hilarious! Fred and George are great, are they coming with us to Hogsmeade today?" you question.

"We're meeting them, along with Ginny for lunch," Hermoine answers. "Now we really must be going, I need to buy some books before they sell out."

"Oi, Hermoine, no one is going to the bookstore in Hogsmeade, I promise!!" Ron whines.

As the four of you head to Hogsmeade, you spot Em ahead of you walking with Blaise. She looks happy with him, and you secretly wish her luck. On the trail ahead, Hermoine and Ron begin to argue about the plans. Deciding between candy or books. Harry slows down to match your speed and looks at you adoringly. 

"You really look great Poppy," he says.

"Thanks Harry. How have you been?"

"Oh you know, being the chosen one is a tiring job" he says with a wink.

You giggle at the statement and feel him reach for your hand, his hand warming your fingertips. "Aren't you with Ginny?" you ask him.

"Ginny? Who told you that?" Harry ponders.

"Oh, I have Astronomy with Draco and he let me know. It's really okay, Harry, I'm happy to continue being your friend," you respond, leaving his hand in yours.

"Malfoy," he mutters. "He really is a twat, always in my business, let me know if he harasses you, I'll have words."

"Oh, nothing like that, Draco is rather nice actually. He helped me with my astronomy homework when I couldn't identify the constellations properly," you respond.

"Huh," he says dumbstruck. "Well no, Poppy, I am not with Ginny, I fancy someone else."

"Well that's great Harry! I hope she OR he makes you happy!" you gush to him.

"Poppy, no. I'm quite fond of you. I was hoping, that maybe tomorrow we could go on a proper date? Maybe to the lake for a picnic?"

"Oh Harry, that sounds great. I am rather fond of picnic's, and I haven't seen the lake yet!"

"Yes, I did think it'd be a perfect date for you, I've been discussing it with Hermoine and she helped me plan it. We thought it would make you feel the most at home."

Your heart melts at his thoughtfulness to the date planned, even admiring how Hermoine managed to keep it a secret from you. Your hand in Harry's, you continue into Hogsmeade. 

Hermoine decided to go to the bookstore herself, while you, Harry, and Ron go to Honeydukes. Upon your entry, your mouth drops. You're overwhelmed with the options, many of which you've never even heard of. Ron offers you his favorites; chocolate frogs and some pumpkin pasties. The three of you walk out, and you find yourself with a heavy bag full of sweets.

Once you leave the store, you begin to make your way to lunch, and grab a table to fit the four of you, plus the rest of the Weasley clan. You sit down and Harry order's a round of pumpkin juice for the table. You hold the glass to your lips and sip the most delicious juice you've ever tasted. As you near the end of your glass, you see Ginny, Fred and George walk in. 

"Fred! George!" you yell with a wave.

"Hello! You must be Ginny," you exclaim to the youngest Weasley in tow, "I'm Poppy."

As the three of them sit down, Fred takes the seat closest to you. And places a hand on your thigh. You suck in your breathe and feel heat rising to your cheeks. Fred looks over with a wink, and George fakes a gag as he catches on to what's occurring. 

Harry, completely oblivious, talks to Hermoine about her purchases. 

As conversation and food arrives, you look down to a warm bowl of seafood chowder and promptly shovel it into your mouth. The warm soup coating your stomach and warming your insides from the cold fall air. Spoonful after spoonful continues until you feel his thumb begin to rub circles on your thigh, which was promptly followed by a tight grab. You cough up chowder in shock at the moment.

"Dovey, not a swallower?" Fred whispers into your ear.

You eyes grow wide, but can feel wet heat grow between your legs and a blush cover your face. 

God was that hot. 

George looks at you and raises an eyebrow, then punches Fred in the arm, mistaking your lust for embarrassment.

You quickly excuse yourself to the bathroom, needing a moment to collect yourself. Racing to the bathrooms, staring at your feet in hopes the blush subsides, you run smack into someone.

Strong arms wrap around you, and stop you from falling backwards, leveling you back on the ground.

"Popppppyyy," he slurs into your ear. 

You look at your mysterious savior, and see none other than Draco Malfoy, sporting a gray suit, which seems to fit him extremely well. Your eyes trace his toned arms, and your fingers graze his defined abs as you gently pull away from him.

"You look rather delicious today, dear. It is a shame you're wasting your time with Potter after all. I'm confident in my abilities to.... please you," he said seductively.

His eyes enticed you. Wrapped you in. And the heat coming off of his body was so warm. And what is that smell? Vanilla and... green apple?

You feel ashamed at the attraction you have towards him. Why him? As you excuse yourself to move around him, he brushes a lock of hair out of your face. His fingertips trailing your cheek for just a moment too long. Hot heat fills your cheeks... again. And you lock your eyes with his. The light blue from before suddenly becoming intense, and stormy, you feel the desire radiating off of him, and you try your best to hide your own. 

As quickly as the lust arose, you find yourself breathless. Quickly succumbing to your needs.


	8. Desire

You pulled Draco backward, dragging him into the bathroom with you. Your hands clawed at his neck, pulling him down to your lips, unable to catch your breathe as you attempted to get all of him.

Your mouths were searching each others, sharing passionate and deep kisses. You struggled to find your breathe, and as he slipped his tongue inside your mouth, you let out a soft moan. At the sound of this, his eyes became dark with lust. Draco pushes you against the bathroom wall, while he slipped his hand to lock the door behind you.

You were lost in your thoughts, lost in your desire for him. His smell enticed you, but his taste pulled you in.

You pulled him back against your mouth hard and nibbled on his lips. As your teeth grazed his lip, a low growl escaped him. Your tongue sliding deeper into his mouth, as if the moment would disappear. 

You could taste.... firewhiskey, was he drunk?

"Draco... Draco stop," you breathed, pushing him off of you.

"Love, is something the matter?" he panted as he tried to control himself, confused as to what was happening.

"Are you drunk?"

"No-not drunk. Tipsy? Maybe. But this is quickly sobering me up."

"Draco, I don't want to do anything you can't consent to, as fun as this is."

"Poppy, I haven't been able to keep my eyes off of you since you've arrived. The alcohol is just giving me a little push is all..."

Next thing you know, his mouth is back on yours, searching desperately for your desire, as he hopes the moment isn't gone. You kiss back, hard, tasting the cinnamon on his breathe.

Draco picks you up and sits you on the sink, his lips trailing your neck and your breath hitches. Desperate for more. He pulls at the underside of your thighs and wraps them around his hips.

He begins to kiss your neck lightly, licking it as he goes. As he paws at your breast outside of the tank top, you pant, feeling the wetness spread in your panties like a flood.. 

"Po-poppy, god you smell good. What is that?"

"Ja-jasmine, it's my perfume," you pant. "Used for erotic purposes for centuries.."

He pulls at the bottom of the tank top before eyeing you for approval. His patience drives you wild, and you toss the shirt over your head and on the floor. 

The air hot with desire, you feel his eyes taking in the sight of you shirtless, and can feel him growing hard between your legs.

"Salzaar, this is better than expected."

Draco brings his lips to yours and grabs a fistful of hair in the process. As he pulls your head back, you let out a moan, pleading this time.

"Draco, I need you..."

This sends a shiver across his body, and a smirk crosses his lips.

He pulls away from you, and for a moment you're confused. This was going so well?

Draco lifts your bottom with a hand and works your jeans down to your ankles. You feel cold air hit your panties as your desire has soaked them through. Draco brings his lips to your breast and sucks lightly, while using his hand to push your underwear to the side. You gasp as his fingers brush your velvet folds. Draco's fingers find your clit and he begins to rub it gently, building up the pressure inside. 

His warm finger circles your clit, teasing your entrance with his others.

"Oh god, pl-please. Don't stop," you yell in ecstasy,

Draco's hand quickly slaps over your mouth, shushing me, "be a good girl, Poppy."

You look back at him and nod your head, hoping to please him. 

As his fingers find your entrance he makes a devious look, "bloody wet are we?"

You moan at his words, and he quickly jams 3 fingers inside of you. He begins finger fucking you, keeping a steady pace, and biting at your neck while he continues. 

As he thrusts his fingers harder, you can feel your walls clench around him. 

"Draco, yessss, I'm so close," you pant heavily.

With these words, Draco takes it up a notch, and curls his fingers back towards himself, hitting your g-spot with wild accuracy.

As if the gates of heaven had opened, you feel the wetness dripping out of you, your orgasm on his fingers. Draco's eyes grew wild at your enjoyment, and he locked those beautiful eyes on you as he sucked his fingers clean.

You sat on the sink in awe as he he licked the juices hungrily, never breaking your gaze.

"Well, Poppy. I hope to do this again soon," he says with a wink.

As Draco leaves the bathroom, you sit on the sink in shock, and naked. You soon come to your senses and get off, quickly getting dressed, and adjusting your wild hair. You let a few moments pass and quickly leave the restroom as well.

You walk back to the table to joint the rest of the party, and sit down, finishing the pumpkin juice quickly. 

"Poppy, you were gone forever," said Ron. "Must have been stuck waiting on the shackers in the bathroom huh?

You felt my face go red and my throat close. "You heard?" you croaked.

"Oh yes. Whichever shag Draco had was a noisy one," responded George. And the rest of them laughed.

"Oh Draco-Draco!"

"No, don't stop!"

And more laughter erupted from the table.

"Yes I waited forever on them, so inconsiderate." you reply, hoping the conversation passes, and that your lie was convincing enough.

As lunch ends, the group gets up and heads back towards Hogwarts. With the cool air on my skin, you wrap my cardigan around yourself tightly.

"Hey Dovey, Gryffindor's throwing a party tonight, want to come?" someone asks from behind me, you turn to see Fred towering over you.

"Sure Fred! As long as you're all okay with it," you ask to the rest of the Gryffindor's.

A unanimous yes comes from them, and you catch Harry making a suspicious face to Fred.

"Promise to bring the goods then?" Fred asks with a smirk.

You smile back, thinking to the joint that was shared a few weeks back. "Sure thing, as long as you and George promise not to hog it all!" you reply with a laugh

George tuns to you as well and shoves lightly, "No promises, Pops!"

You all continue the journey back to the school grounds, arm in arm, laughing the whole way back.


	9. A Night to Remember

As you walk back into the dorm, you spot Emily sitting on her bed.

"Em! The date! Tell me everything!" you exclaim.

"It was lovely!! Blaise was so sweet, we had tea, and then stopped for lunch at the Three Broomsticks. He is such a gentleman, we're seeing each other next weekend as well!"

You tense up at the thought of the Three Broomsticks, and the realization of how royally you've messed up.

"Em..." you say, your voice in a quiver. "I need help," you choke out with a cry.

Emily stands up and moves over swiftly, hugging you immediately.

"Come on Poppy, what's going on?"

You spill your day like word vomit. Starting with Harry asking you on a date. Followed by the weird vibes from Fred. Ending quickly with your bathroom session with Draco.

Emily's eyes enlarge. "Well it sounds eventful?" She offers with some help.

"Emily what do I do!!! Harry is so sweet, but god Draco made me feel things. I'm not even going to acknowledge the Fred thing, seeing as Fred, he could have been joking to get a rise."

"Everything will be okay Poppy. So you made out with Draco! Loads of girls make out with Draco! And no one besides, you, Draco, Blaise, and I even know it happened!!"

"HOW DOES BLAISE KNOW?!"

"Poppy, he's Draco's best friend, of course he knows by now. But don't worry, he's good. He'll keep it a secret."

"Okay, okay... that's fair. So then what about Harry?"

"Poppy, it's one date! A date you haven't even gone on! You're not anyone's play toy. Be Poppy. Of course you're getting attention, You're the fun American! Don't let any of these BOYS tie you down until you know where you stand with them," she said with soft eyes. "I'm sorry it happened today babe, it must be sooo hard being the hot new thing at Hogwarts," she said with a wink.

You let Emily hold you in her arms, her words washing relief over you. A make out is a make out. Or, a fingering is a fingering? Either way, it means nothing, nothing serious at least.

You straighten up and wipe away the smudged mascara.

"Emily, we're going to a party. Let's get dressed."

_______________________

As the two of you bound down the stairs, you reflect at your quick rebound from this afternoon. You've double braided your hair, added winged eyeliner, and done a deep red lipstick. Black mom jeans, a black wrap top, and Emily's booties from earlier complete the look. You looked hot.

You grab Em's hand and the two of you walk towards the Gryffindor common room. Emily was safety, Emily was comfort. And as you head to the entrance you giver her hand a final squeeze to keep you grounded.

Outside the entrance is a first year blocking the portrait at the door. He asks you for the password, and you respond with Godric Gryffindor's birthday. He turns to the fat lady and whispers some words before letting you in.

Upon entry, your eyes widen at how different their common room looks from Hufflepuff's. You just assumed they'd all look the same. But Gryffindor's was darker than Hufflepuff's with red and gold accents on everything.

Still grabbing Emily's hand, the two of you walk to the bar and she gets you both a drink. You take the mysterious drink to your nose and smell it. It's smells strongly of alcohol and you gag at the smell. Emily giggles and tells you it's best to just shoot it. You let the glasses clink together before you both swallow the Beetle Berry Whiskey in one gulp.

Warmth spreads through your body as the whiskey burns down your body. You both hastily take another to speed up the process.

As you set your glass down, a familiar song comes on.

"Oh my god, Emily! Come on, you love this song! Dance with me please!"

Tootsee Roll begins to play over the stereo and Emily's eyes widen as the realization of the song hits her. Since you brought your CD player with you to Hogwarts, Em has slowly become obsessed with muggle music, even listening to it when you're not around.

The two of you bound to the dance floor, but not before grabbing a certain Hermoine Granger on the way. Hermoine tries to protest the dancing, but soon joins in with giggles as you and Emily jokingly dance against your butts against her.

"What are you two doing!" she yells between laughs.

"It's called grinding! Poppy told me about it!!"

"Emily I know what grinding is," Hermoine laughs, letting the smile hit her eyes.

The three of you sing in unison, dancing like complete goofs while the song changes.

"Emily, Mione, do you want a drink? I'm going to go grab something," you tell the both of them.

As you move off the dance floor and grab some shots of fire whiskey from the bar, you hear someone speak to you.

"Surely those aren't all for yourself, Dovey" says Fred with a sly look on his face, George sporting a similarly mischievous look.

"No Freddie, they WERE for Mione and Emily," you say as the two quickly scoop the shots from you.

Rolling your eyes, you smile at the two boys.

"Bottoms up," exclaims George. And the three of you quickly down the shot.

"So George, how're things going with Oliver?" You question quietly

"Well neither Oli or I are publicly out, so it's a lot of snogging in the dorm room, while Fred keeps watch outside."

"It is not my favorite task," Fred retorts with a laugh.

You laugh as well; picturing the awkward scenario.

"As long as you're happy, I'm happy George," you reply.

"And how are things with Potter?" George asks. And you catch Fred's face darken.

You sputter your drink out a little, not expecting that question. "Erm, well, good I guess? Though nothing is going on, he just asked me on a date for tomorrow."

"Harry hasn't shut up about it either," Fred says with annoyance. "Surprised he didn't try to snog you yet."

"Oh Freddie; if I didn't know any better, I'd sense some jealousy!" George says, wagging a finger at his twin.

"Oh shut it, you git! Just... protective of my new friend is all"

You laugh at the two interacting with each other, enjoying their relationship. They really compliment each other well, very zen. 

As you grab some more shots to bring back to the girls, you ask the boys if they want to dance with your little group.

They quickly agree and follow you out, just as a Green Day song begins to fill the air.

Hermione, Emily, and yourself quickly take the shots and you feel yourself loosen up even more.

You shake your hips to the music, giggling as Emily starts to grind on you. You reach your arms out to Hermione making sure she feels included, and soon George is shaking his butt against you as well. You throw your head back and laugh at them. As you open your eyes, you look over to see Fred eyeing you, and once you catch his glaze he raises an eyebrow before laughing as well.

As the music begins to slow down, you get on your toes in order to whisper to Fred.

"I've got the goods," you say, making an elaborate show, trying to pretend to be secretive.

Fred calls at George and repeats your message to him. George's eyes grow wide and he plants a kiss on your forehead.

"I knew you were my favorite Hufflepuff!!" He exclaimed before grabbing your hand.

As George tried to pull you upstairs, you quickly grab Em's hand as well.

The four of you wander up to the boys dorm rooms, leaving Hermoine downstairs to find Harry and Ron. You feel guilty for not waiting for her, but in the moment you had time to grab Emily, and George didn't really give you the option to wait.

Upon entering the twins room, the four of you plop down on the floor in circle, and pass a quickly lit joint around. You avoided lavender this time, hoping Em would stay awake longer than last.

After a few minutes you heard the door creak open, and promptly watch Emily chuck the still lit joint under a nearby bed.

Hermoine, Ron, Harry, and Ginny all walk in.

You laugh at Emily as she digs under the bed for the joint she horribly tried to hide.

The others join your circle and the only two to hit the joint are Ron and Ginny. Despite Ron's best attempts to talk Ginny out of it.

Ginny was the youngest Weasley and the only girl, and Ron seemed to feel the most protective of her. Whereas the twins had accepted that she was just as mischievous as they were.

As the joint dwindled down, and the high was setting in, everyone decided to play spin the bottle.

It was an odd number of Weasley's, so after two spins of Ron landing on Ginny then Fred, we all decided on a different tactic.

Truth or dare was the new game of choice, as it allowed for more flexibility.

"Emily, truth or dare?" Hermoine posed.

"Truth!"

"Is it true that you're dating Blaise Zabini?"

"I wouldn't say dating.. since it's only been one date.." she responded, "Hmmm Fred, truth or dare?"

"Easy, dare!"

"I dare you to kiss the hottest person in the room."

"Is myself an option?"

"Preferably not," Emily laughed in response.

Fred eyed his choices carefully, building up the suspense, he had a flair for dramatics. 

He eventually leaned over and brushed some hair behind my ear.

"Try not to fall in love, Dovey," he said, my nickname from him warming my heart.

I laughed in response, "I don't think you had many options this time around."

Fred leaned over and kissed my lips. It was lazy but sweet, he left his lips lingering for a few moments before Ron coughed loudly.

"Whoops," he shrugged, winking at me as he backed away.

Hermoine eyed me suspiciously, as the game moved on. I could feel Harry's personality dip after the kiss. I tried not to focus on it. It was just a game. A drunken game.


	10. The Lake

You woke up to sunlight hitting your face, and a dull snore next to you. Within a moment you noticed the sheets were red, not gold, and felt an arm over your midsection. You turned you face to see it was George, spooning you as he slept. On his other side you noticed Emily, the source of the snores. 

Upon further inspection you saw the other beds were full as well, the unknown roommates appeared to be Lee Jordan and an unfamiliar blonde haired boy. As you looked at the bed closest to you, you giggled as you saw Fred had slept with Ginny and Ron in his bed, the three of them sandwiched close. Harry and Hermoine were no where to be found, you sit up and stretch your arms above your head. 

The movement wakes George, who suddenly acknowledges his full bed and howls in delight. 

"Fred... Freddie..." he tries to whisper.

You quickly grab a pillow off the floor and toss is at Fred before laying back down into George. You and George see Fred wake up, and struggle to contain your laughs as you see him start to put together the pieces of last night.

"Dragon shit! How did you end up with Emily and Poppy and I got these gits?!" he exclaims.

"Georgie, Fred is being mean to me..." Ginny says sleepily, rolling away from Fred's yelling.

"Aw Gin, you can come lay with us too," you sing to her.

Ginny sticks her tongue out at Fred and hops into George's bed as you wrap your arms around her. You knew she was wise, playing her older brother's as she knew best.

Fred throws his middle finger at you all, before shoving Ron off the bed. This is the last straw before you and George cackle manically. You toss your feet off the edge of the bed and lightly shake Emily. 

"Em, Em, come on. We need to go back to Hufflepuff." you whisper to her, remembering a still sleeping Lee nearby.

As Emily wakes up, you're followed down the stairs by Fred and George. In the Gryffindor Common Room you sport Harry and Hermoine drinking some tea on the sofa.

"Good morning Harry! Hermoine! Where did you two end up sleeping?"

"Oh, around 4 am, Harry and I decided to go back to our own rooms. Ron had already passed out and was impossible to wake, and Ginny was like moving dead weight," Hermoine laughed.

"Well thanks to you lot, I ended up with both of them in my bed!" Fred glowered.

"Well thanks to you lot, I ended up with both of them in my bed," George laughed as he gestured towards you and Emily.

You saw Harry's gaze drop at this comment, and felt bad. Nothing was obviously going to happen with George, but it wasn't your place to say why.

"So, our date today?" Harry asked.

"Of course Harry, what time should I meet you?"

Harry perked at this, "How about I come get you from Hufflepuff around 1pm?"

_______________________

Once you got back to the dorm room, you and Em promptly went back to sleep, unable to stay awake any longer.

You were awoken at 12:30pm by your alarm, and your eyes shot open as you remembered your date. After a quick shower, you were soon ready for your date. Just leggings and a sweater today, as you started to cut it close on time.

As you stepped out of the Hufflepuff entrance, you were greeted by Harry holding a single poppy.

What a sweet gesture, you thought. You braided the poppy into your hair, and the two of you headed to the lake for a picnic.

Once you arrived, you saw the lengths Harry had truly gone to for this date. A blanket was laid out, with a spread of meats, cheeses, and teas that waited for you. It was a lovely set up, the sweetest date you had ever been on.

As the two of you nibbled, you could feel tension building, as Harry worked up the courage to talk to you about the previous night. 

"Hey Poppy, di-did I interrupt something between you and George?" he muttered

"Oh Harry! No! George is just one of my closest friends is all," you smile, glad this wasn't about your kiss with Fred.

"Okay, good. I just really like you Poppy, you're wild and exciting, and honestly so beautiful," he stammers.

You blush at the compliments, and gently squeeze his hand in thanks.

As conversation moves from the previous night, you listen to Harry tell you his story of the Triwizard tournament, hearing for the first time, the reason of Emily's heartbreak.

You look up, spotting the sun beginning to drop, amazed at how something so simple can bring you back to Salem so easily. The memory of Salem brings a smile to your face, and a twinkle in your eye which Harry catches a glint of.

His fingers brush against your cheek and he rests his hand on your face, "May I?"he begins.

He pulls your face towards his, closes the distance between your lips. He tastes of honey, and while the kiss is sweet, its just that. 

You don't feel your breathe hike, like with Draco, or your heartbeat speed up like it was with Fred. Harry is kind, but the kiss brings nothing to you, and you feel guilty for that.

As you pull apart from him, you give him a soft smile.

As the sun finally dips past the horizon, the two of you stand up and make your way back inside. 

"Poppy, can we do this again?" he asks sweetly.

"Harry I'm sorry, but I must be fair to you... while I do rather like your company, I don't know if this is a good idea."

His face visibly drops, and you feel a string tug at your heart.

"I think you deserve someone who fancies you completely, someone who knows all you go through. And according to my sources, Ginny is still terribly interested." you say wagging a finger at him with a smile.

His eyes light upon this remark, "Is she?" he asks, "I wasn't sure, I had heard rumors of her and Dean..."

"Harry, she's perfect, though I am sorry about today."

At that, the two of you reach the castle and he gives you a light hug. With a quick goodbye, you each heard to your common room. And you find yourself surprisingly happy with the outcome of the day.


	11. The Broom Closet

On your way back the common room, you turn a corner to see Emily giggling in a group. As you walk over to her, you recognize it to be Blaise and Draco.

You haven't seen Draco since the bathroom encounter, and you already felt embarrassment creeping up.

"Poppy! How was your date?" Emily asked with interest.

"Oh, it was nice, I'll fill you in tonight..." you tell her, trying to push the conversation away.

"A date? And who's the unlucky twat?" Draco inquired.

Ouch.

"Harry Potter. He took me on a picnic to the lake, sorry to tell you this way. I know the hard on you get for him." You spat, with more anger than intended.

Blaise immediately breaks into a fit of laughter, trying his hardest to calm himself quickly before making matters worse. Em raises an eyebrow at you but giggled as Blaise's inability to chill out.

You turn to Draco who is shooting daggers at you; which you quickly roll off. And decide now is a fine time to head back to Hufflepuff.

You continue to the Hufflepuff entrance when you notice the footsteps falling behind you.

"Off so soon, Poppy? And to think we were just beginning to have fun." you hear behind you

Knowing it's Draco, and knowing you don't have the time to deal with more drama you keep your pace, not turning back.

As the footsteps keep up behind you, you immediately round a corner before stopping.

"Jesus, Draco, can I help you?" you exclaim

"Just thought you said you weren't Potter's girlfriend is all. Its wasn't his name you were moaning yesterday," he says with a smirk

Redness grows across your cheeks, embarrassment growing steadily.

"Draco, about that. I am so sorry. I knew you had a few to drink; and really shouldn't have let anything happen."

"That's what you think? That I can't handle a few drinks? You're more daft than I thought."

"Can you stop with the asshole remarks for five seconds? I'm trying to be kind!"

"Ugh, I'll accept your apology, Poppy, though it is wholly unnecessary. I was rather excited to see you this evening, if you know what I mean." He says looking down at himself, and you notice a hefty bulge beginning to grow. "While you may think you enjoyed your date with Potter, I'm sure it was nothing compared to a few minutes with me."

You raise your eyebrows at him.

"Are you fucking kidding me? You come up to me, are completely atrocious and offer a quick hook up? You're the daft one."

As you finish the sentence, you're suddenly pushed against the brick wall behind you.

Draco pins your wrists to the wall, and breathes into your ear.

"Tell me you don't enjoy me, love."

"I-I..." you mutter as his breathing continues down your neck.

"Tell me to stop, love, if you want me to."

Your breathing hikes up, and you can feel the wetness growing between your legs.

As you feel the grip loosen around your wrist, an animalistic instinct takes over.

You grab Draco by the neck and pull his lips down onto yours, hard. You let your tongue slide into his mouth, and try to taste as much as possible. He shoves his tongue into your mouth, and you gently suck on it. Draco moans at this, and you can feel his member growing even more against your legs.

He shoves his leg between yours and rubs his thigh against pubic area.

You moan into his mouth, mentally begging for more. This was getting too hot; too publicly.

Draco must have felt the same, because he quickly led you into a broom closet. And you locked the door.

"Draco, do the spell."

"The spell?" he asks dumbly

"The silencing one, Emily told me about it!"

He laughs at your lack of wand skills, before quickly using a muffliato charm.

While he does the charm you take this opportunity to take your top off, and promptly drop to your knees.

Working on his belt, you lower his pants down; letting his member spring free.

It was easily 8 inches in length, not very girth, but its size was intimidating.

His eyes widen as you look up at him, keeping eye contact as you move his veiny piece into your mouth.

Low groans come out of his mouth, and he pulls your hair back, holding it out of your face.

You focus on his shaft with one hand, and use your tongue to lick up the pre cum spilling from it.

Draco loses all sense of patience and begins to fuck your face. You choke on his dick; working to take in as much as you can. You continue to stare up at him, growing wetter by the second. You move your hand down to play with yourself, getting hot at the desire you see in his eyes.

At this, Draco stops his thrusts, looking down at you he says, "Now love, did I say you could play with yourself?"

You pull your hand away from yourself, and wrap it to fondle his balls, hoping to distract yourself.

As he continues his moans, you begin to rub your legs together, hoping too find some relief for your building hot tension.

He sees this and lifts you up, letting his mouth kiss yours, as he works your bra off. With a snap of his fingers, you feel it fall to the floor. As the kiss deepens, you mutter his name into him.

He finishes stripping you, and his eyes grow hungry as he takes you in, all of you.

"Slytherin, youre hot," he mumbled as his mouth moves to your left breast.

He begins to suck and nip at your breast, leaving love bites scattered across your chest. While using his hand to work the right one as well.

You moan and beg for more, growing wet, and completely unable to contain yourself.

Draco flips you over; and you feel your chest and stomach against the cold stone walls. He pulls your ass back towards him and soon you feel his member moving against your lips.

"Thought you could see Potter behind my back, did ya? Well don't worry, I'll soon set your mind straight."

His penis gently slides into your folds, and you gasp at its size. He quickly fills you up and gains a steady rhythm. As he takes you from behind, the room fills with the wet noises of two becoming one; and your chest hitting the wall with every thrust.

Draco's hand slips between your legs and circles your swollen clit. The sensation drives you wild and you beg him for more.

"God please, fuck me draco, don't stop."

"Naughty little slut aren't we? Desperate for my cock."

His words make you wet and run you to an orgasm. As his lips find your neck, you can feel him gently biting and sucking the area between his groans of pleasure.

As he picks up pace, and circles your clit faster, you feel your walls tighten, knowing ecstasy is soon.

You grind back into him and ride your wave; screaming in pleasure as you collapse against him. With two more pumps you feel Draco twitch against your back, and fills you with his liquid.

The two of you and left panting, and you don't think you've ever finished that hard.

Still inside of you, Draco brushes your hair off your neck and plants a kiss against it, before pulling out.

He mumbles a spell at your uterus to protect against any consequences of your little rendezvous, and you make a mental note to have Emily teach it to you.

You both grab your clothes and quickly get dressed in the dark, the air still hot with the smell of sex.

He peers his head out of the doorway to check the hallway, and lets you know it's clear.

With a firm kiss, and a wink; Draco is off to Slytherin, and you wobble your way back to Hufflepuff.


	12. Dumbledore's Army

Weeks pass by, and Christmas is coming quickly. Though the semester has been exciting, you've found yourself missing Dad more and more with the holiday season upon you. As you and Emily sit in the Great Hall, gossiping about a fight between Pansy and Daphne, the room fills with owls as mail begins to circulate.

There are so many things that amaze you about Hogwarts, but the sight of the owls finding their recipient is always an exciting feat. As you follow the owls across the ceiling, you notice one heading towards you, dropping an envelope on your plate. 

You look down and see the a letter addressed to you in a familiar handwriting. Dad.

'Poppy-

It's been a while, dear, and for that I'm sorry. I've been so busy with my work, that time just got away from me. I'm not quite used to my new work load at the ministry, it's rather different than my work as a professor, and I haven't fully made the transition mentally with non muggle work. 

Christmas is coming, and the season has made me rather homesick. Do you feel the same? Since I've been practicing pages Christmas since I moved to the Commune, I often forget the Christian aspects of it all. It will be a weird year without the Commune, and even lonelier without you. 

I've made some plans for us this Christmas so we aren't alone, Arthur Weasley invited us to stay with his family to celebrate. I already agreed, I hope you don't mind, but I assumed you would want a large celebration like we are so used to with the community. 

I understand you get out of classes December 15th, but unfortunately Arthur and I have to work until the 23rd. I'll stay at my flat in London until then, but Arthur assured me that his wife, Molly, would be happy to host you until I arrive. 

Please get with one of the Weasley's and ask them for assistance with heading to the Burrow. 

Endless love, my Dove,

Dad.'

You get teary eyed reading the letter, you hadn't realized just how much you missed Dad until his letter, and the thought of a large Christmas immediately put you at ease, especially knowing you both were on the same page.

"Pops, you okay?" Emily asked you with worried eyes.

"Yes, yes I promise," you laugh at yourself. "Just a letter from dad, we're spending Christmas with the Weasley's!"

"Oh lovely!! I was worried you'd be left here alone, I'm so glad you'll get to spend time with the twins, OH! You should see if Hermoine will be there as well!"

"Hermoine? Why would she go?"

"Her parents are muggles, they don't celebrate Christmas," Emily responded matter of factly.

You laugh at your deliriously pureblood friend, and let her have her moment. After lunch comes to an end, you head to your Defense Against the Dark Arts class. The class was your least favorite, for a number of reasons. Firstly, your wand use was still a little shaky, so it took you some time to comprehend the lesson, or even what it meant. Secondly, your horrid professor. 

Dolores Umbridge was a rather brutal woman, who enjoyed pink and sadistic punishment. Harry had informed you of a cursed quill she owned, which carved into the user as they wrote. She had just been getting worse as the year went on, and the only thing that made it bearable was that the trio was in your class as well.

You walked in and quickly found your seat next to Hermoine, she looked disheveled, as she quickly scanned the pages of her textbook.

"Mione? How ya doing?" you ask the curly haired witch.

"Ugh, completely dreadful. All this work with Dumbedore's Army is becoming too much," she whispers, careful not to let Umbridge hear.

"Do you need help? I know I'm still rather new, but I'd hate to see you struggle."

"Would you!" Hermoine exclaims, "we have a meeting today before the break and I have some logistics to work out. I know you haven't attended our meetings before, but I think coming will help your skills at a minimum!"

You happily agree to help Hermoine, and she tells you to meet her outside Gryffindor this evening so she can show you the way.

The day seems to drag on as you impatiently wait for the Dumbledore's Army meeting. 

After your final class, you run to Hufflepuff to discard your robes, and grab some parchment before heading to Gryffindor's entrance.

You stand against the wall and wait for Hermoine to come out, as you fiddle with your hair, lost in thought, you hear the portrait next to you open. 

Hermoine comes out, and you can hear her yelling at someone as she steps through. She quickly spots you, and you spot her unlucky victim. Well, two victims. You giggle as George and Fred follow her out, and see George's red face, as Fred begins to argue back with her. 

"Oh Poppy!! You're truly a life saver, unlike these two buffoons..." she says, looking the two square in the eyes as she says it.

You laugh and give the girl a hug, "Mione, you know I owe you after all you've done for me!"

The three of you follow Hermoine to the training room and you reach out to grab George's hand, still sensing his unease. Holding on to it, the tall boy looks to you and smiles, sending an air kiss your direction. You use the other hand to fake catch it, before winking at him.

Fred slows his pace to walk with you and George before saying, "What am I chopped liver?"

You laugh and and inform him that the spot for your favorite Weasley is already taken.

Fred looks at you with mock horror as he clutches his chest. 

As the four of you get closer to your destination, a look of confusion crosses your face as you stop in an empty hallway.

"Hermoine, surely you all don't practice in this hallway? Umbridge is sure to catch you all eventually!!"you say quietly.

Hermoine, Fred, and George all share a laugh, before Hermoine faces the wall squarely and closes her eyes.

Within seconds, a door begins to form, and your mouth gapes open in amazement.

You quickly follow Hermoine in, and the twins take your rear, checking that the door closes behind them.

Inside, you follow Hermoine to greet Harry and Ron.

"Welcome, Poppy! Sorry we didn't have you sooner, but as you can imagine this is a rather risky operation, and we wanted to make sure you were trustworthy," Harry says in with some embarrassment.

Taking a play from Fred's book, you clutch your chest in mock horror. At this sight, Fred laughs heartily, making the connection immediately.

You assure Harry that it's okay, you'd be afraid of being caught too, especially when it came to Dolores.

While Harry lines everyone up, Hermoine asks you if you're comfortable observing the group, she just wants some simple notes on everyone's technique. She informs you that she would love to, but she hasn't been able to practice much while also taking on administrative duties.

You soon realize they're practicing expelliarmus, a disarming charm. You watch everyone's technique, taking overly detailed notes; as you're unsure what Hermoine wants. You soon find yourself taking out your own wand and practicing the wrist movements the others use.

Muttering the incantation to yourself, you don't notice the red headed boy watching you, longing in his eyes.

Harry quickly instructs everyone to break off and take more time practicing their patronus charm. Following Hermoine around the room, you note what each students patronus looks like, while she informs you hers is an otter.

"It is a rather beautiful spell," you remark to Hermoine.

"Would you like to try?"

"uh- sure, why not?" you say as biting your lips, nerves take over you. It seemed like rather advanced magic, and it would be utterly embarrassing to if you couldn't do it.

Hermoine stands next to you, and shows you the wand movements needed before allowing you to try it yourself. As you're about to cast the spell for yourself, Hermoine interrupts you, yelling after Ron, who's lost control of his patronus.

You watch as the girl runs off, and Harry walks up behind you.

"Decided to practice your own patronus?"

"Well, yes, until Hermoine ran off. She was showing me what to do, and honestly I'm a little overwhelmed," you admit to Harry.

"Hmm, how about we fix that," he says.

"Oh- Harry you don't need to waste time on me, you're rather busy, I can wait.'

Harry laughs, "No, I had a different idea," he says before calling George over. 

"Good luck," Harry calls with a wink, as he walks off.

"Bloody clueless, he is," George says with a laugh. "He called the wrong twin over!"

"Georgie, don't be harsh! You're great with spells!"

"Poppy, I am utterly confident in my ability to teach you a patronus, however, I'm not the twin who keeps eye shagging you."

Your mouth drops open at his words. 

"Don't spill his secrets!!" Lee Jordan calls out from behind, "Fred'll hex you!"

George and Lee laugh, and you look over to Fred, his ears turning red as he pretends to ignore your conversation.

Eventually the three of you focus your attention back to the patronus. As you flick your wand and mutter the spell, you send sparks out of your wands tip, and you jump backwards in fear. 

George and Lee double over in laughter as you struggle.

"Oh fuck off!" you say through your own tears as you laugh along side the two.

After a few more tries, you're finally able to shoot a light wisp out of your wand. While it didn't take shape like the others, it was still something, and the small group that had formed around you began to cheer. You realize your charm is non-corporal, not as powerful as the rest, but still beautiful.

You made a dramatic bow to your fans as Lee and George both put their hands up for a high five. You high five the two of them as Fred wandered over.

"Glad you could join us Fred, however I will not be accepting autographs at this time," you say in a mock tone.

"Oh pity, I heard they were selling for a hot price with the first years," he jokes.

As the training session draws to an end, you begin to walk back to your common room with the twins and Lee. 

"Oh! I almost forgot! I'm spending Christmas at the burrow and am supposed to have one of you Weasley's show me there after classes on Friday."

At these words, Lee promptly nudges Fred with his elbow, and you watch Fred shove him back, "oh sod off," he mutters, barely audible.

"Blimey Poppy, this will be great! After lessons on Friday, grab your trunk, and meet us outside the Great Hall. We'll make our way to the train together," George says excitedly, not noticing the scene next to him.

As you get closer to Hufflepuff, you say goodnight to the boys and trudge off to bed.

Before you fully see yourself inside, you overhear the boys walking back to Gryffindor. 

"Just my luck, Poppy for Christmas," you hear Fred say.

As the door seals you can feel your heart break just a bit, what's wrong with me?


	13. The Train

After lessons on Friday, you hurry back to Hufflepuff, knowing you only have about 20 minutes to get ready before the Weasley's show up. 

You quickly run up the steps, taking them two at a time, before reaching the 6th floor landing and throwing open your dorm room. The room is empty, as Emily left just after lunch during your shared study period.

Opening your closet, you quickly change into some leggings and an oversized sweater, hoping it'll be warm enough for the train. Grabbing the clothes off your floor, you throw everything you can fit into your trunk, dreading the headache it'll cause you later. 

You suddenly notice the time and hurriedly place a spell on your trunk, making it float behind you. Well that was the idea. You're still rather terrible at spells, so the trunk kind of floats/ drags behind you. At any rate, you don't have to carry it, so you still consider it a win.

Once outside your common room, you see four red headed teenagers waiting for you, along with a Raven haired boy.

"Weasley's! Singular Potter!" you joke as you step out. 

They all greet you, and you begin to follow them to the train.

As you continue walking, Fred suddenly stops, questioning the drunken trunk behind you.

With fresh wounds from his words the night before, you ignore his remarks, hoping he'll leave you be. 

Harry turns as well, and offers you help. You politely decline, knowing the trunk is far too heavy for him to carry.

With a flick of his wrist, your trunk is suddenly flying at a level that looks much better than before.

"Oh, thank you, Harry! My skills are still rather... bad," you say with a chuckle.

"No worries, Poppy, always happy to help," he says with a wink.

"idiot," you hear George whisper behind you, and you turn back to see him talking to Fred.

In hushed whispers, you decide to ignore them, not wanting to deal with Fred's random mood change.

As the group of you enter the train, you follow Ron, Harry, and Ginny into a compartment, the twins disappearing. You help Ginny get her trunk overhead, and take a seat next to the girl.

She begins to tell you about her date with Dean Thomas, and you catch Harry shrink into his seat at the sound of his name. Idiot, you think. Had he paid any sort of attention to her he'd see how unhappy she is. Sure they suck face all the time, but Ginny's tears are unmistakable. You were going to have to talk some sense into Harry, and soon.

While listening to Ginny detail her latest make out session with Dean, you hear the compartment door slide open, and the twins finally make their appearance.

George quickly sits next to Ron, leaving Fred stuck next to you. You slide closer into Ginny, giving Fred ample room away from you. 

Turning your attention away from Fred, you continue talking to Ginny, the conversation having shifted to Quidditch, a sport you're barely familiar with.

"'Scuse me..." you say as you climb over legs, heading to the bathroom compartment.

"Poppy?" you hear behind you.

You turn to see Fred standing outside the compartment. 

"What?" you say, your emotions betraying you.

"Erm, sorry if I was too forward the weekend of the Gryffindor party. Hadn't realized you were with Harry..." he says embarrassed.

"With Harry? I'm not with Harry."

"Well I saw you two by the lake, you should have told me so I wasn't a rubbish friend to him. He's like a brother to me, you know."

You considered his words for a moment before finally answering. 

"I'm sorry Fred. I only went on one date with him, we had kissed, and I just didn't feel a spark. Plus I think him and Ginny would be a rather cute couple," you say.

"I see. Sorry I've been such a twat to you since then. I was angry."

"You know, I heard what you said about me coming to the Burrow for Christmas."

"When?"

"After DA practice, you made a comment to George about me coming, sounded rather upset. I don't have to go you know. I can just take a taxi to dad's flat once we reach King's Crossing."

"Dovey, I only said that because I thought you'd spend the whole break snogging Harry," he responds with a groan.

At his honesty, you laugh.

"I do not intend to 'snog' Harry over Christmas! My Dad will be there!" you reminisce before turning to your destination.

At the rekindled friendship, you continue to the bathroom, not noticing the tall red head who stayed planted, watching you walk away.

_________________________

As the train pulls into the station, you struggle to get your trunk off the overhead shelf. 

"Ron, you git, help her!" Ginny says. "Useless, I swear."

As the younger Weasley brother reaches up, he manages to get your suitcase free, but not before it hits you in the face, right below your eye.

"Sorry, sorry!!" he says quickly

You laugh, "don't worry, it only hurts a little, Ron. I grew up practically living outside, I fine, I'm promise."

Despite being younger than you, Ginny is still a few inches taller than you. She grabs your chin with her hand and pulls your face towards hers.

"it's getting a little dark, you may end with a black eye," she remarks.

"Well there goes my modeling career," you laugh in response, feeling a bruise forming already.

Grabbing your trunk, you follow the Weasley's and Harry through the train station. As you reach the curb you spot a woman on the sidewalk, waving her arms wildly, before running at the group.

She makes her rounds, hugging and kissing the kids before stopping at you.

"Hello, dear, I'm Molly Weasley, the gang of red heads are clearly mine!"

"Ma'am, I'm Poppy Dove Kennedy," you say, reaching out to hug her.

"Oh, you'll fit in great! I'm a hugger myself," she says pulling you in.

The woman smells of laundry detergent and brown sugar, and her warmth brings you comfort, reminding you of your own mom. 

You decide you love her immediately, and the group of you follow her to a run down bar, dark and dusty. Molly makes her way to a back room before stopping before a fire place. 

"Alright George, you're up first," she says, shoving a red head forward.

"I'm not George, I'm Fred" he says, stepping into the fire place, before dropping the powder and disappearing.

"Only joking, mum, that was George!" says the next as he soon disappears as well.

With the twins gone, Molly helps you climb into the fire place, and instructs you on how to use the floo powder.

With a deep breathe, you pronounce 'The Burrows' as flawlessly as you can and drop the powder at your feet.

You quickly open your eyes to find yourself standing in a new location, and a hand quickly reaches out to you. As you step out of the fire place, your eyes lock with Fred's and you send him a thank you, seeing his face turn red.

Almost as soon as you step out, you turn to see Harry has made his way through as well.

Once everyone has arrived to the Burrow, Molly instructs you to follow Ginny, as you'll be bunking with her for your stay. As you and Ginny climb the stairs, dragging your trunk behind you, you feel the object grow lighter as it begins to levitate. Unsure of what's going on, you see Fred standing at the base of the stairs, wand in hand, he sends you a small wink to confirm your suspicions.

As you find Ginny's room, a small owl taps it's beak against her window. Unfamiliar with who's it is, you open the window and feed it a small treat, taking the parchment from its mouth.

"Ginny, for you," you let her know, continuing to pet the soft creature.

As the owl cooes against you, Ginny lets out a quiet sob.

"Gin, what's wrong?"

"Dean broke up with me," she says, her sob growing louder.

"Oh Gin! What a dick! Through a letter! You're far too good for him!" you tell her, hoping your words take some effect.

She listens to your words, quietly asking you to keep this quiet for the next few days, she knows her brothers will harass him, and she just wants to move on in peace.

Knowing the truth in what she says, you agree to her request, and plant a gentle kiss on her forehead. 

"Your secret is safe with me."


	14. The Burrow

The first night at the Burrow was long, you stayed up late with Ginny, passing a joint between the two of you as she mended her broken heart.

Okay, broken heart is a little dramatic, Ginny seemed to get over it quick enough once you hinted that a certain Chosen One may have a crush on her.

The night was fun, your relationship with Ginny was better now as the weeks grew on, and you started to see her in the same light as Hermoine, one of your best friends.

It was rather late in the morning when you two finally woke up, sneaking down the stairs, hoping Molly wouldn't notice your arrival.

"Well girls, rather late isn't it?"

"Erm-hello mum, Poppy and I lost track of time last night, girl talk and all..." she said attempting to sound convincing.

"Lucky for you and Poppy, I saved you some plates before the boys could clean my kitchen out," Molly says, handing you two plates of food.

Your mouth waters at your plate and you hastily shovel food into your mouth. Enjoying the roasted potatoes and perfectly fried ham that Molly made.

Within moments, both yours and Ginny's plates are cleaned, and you head to the kitchen to clean up. As you wash the plates, you spot Ginny making her way to the couch, shoving Ron to the side, and sitting almost on top of Harry.

You laugh at how bold she is, knowing that she's going to give the boys a run for their money. You catch Ginny loop her arm under Harry's and see him straighten up. Feeling your heart warm at the sweet moment; you begin to focus back on the dishes.

As you wash the dishes, you begin to sing quietly to yourself. Allowing the warmth of the water to comfort you.

Molly steps behind you, and wraps a tight hug around you.

"Dearie, you are a guest in my house; sit, sit!" The woman insists. "Plus Hermoine joined us this morning, says she'll spend the Holiday here after all, go join the girls!!"

You smile at her and make your way to the living room to join the others. Hermoine is sitting in a armchair; while Ron, Harry, and Ginny sit on the couch; leaving the twins cross legged on the floor. You decide Hermoine is your best option; and lay yourself across her. She laughs at the weight, gently trying to push you off. At this, you decide to lay down fully; collapsing as if you were a dead body.

With all the laughter, erupting between the two of you, Ron looks over, ears growing red at the sight of you sitting on Hermoine's lap. Feeling the urge to tease him a bit, you kiss Mione's cheek, making it noisy before you rest your head against her shoulder. You know he has a crush on her, he's so stupidly obvious.

"Can I help you Ronald?" Hermoine questions

"Mm, no, no," he says before grabbing a pillow and bringing it over his lap.

You and Ginny lock eyes, and the two of you break into more laughter, knowing exactly what Ron was trying to hide. Hermoine soon catches on and the Burrow fills with noise as the three of you struggle to contain yourselves.

"Oh sod off..." Ron mumbles to himself.

"Hermoine, when did you show?" you ask your friend.

"Well, last night I received a rather...interesting piece of parchment from you and Ginny. It made no sense honestly, something about single girl's weekend, Dean Thomas, a black eye, and the parchment smelled rather harshly of weed..." she finishes, saying the end in rather hushed tones, ensuring Molly wouldn't hear.

"One night here, and you're already replaced us with Ginny!" Fred and George say in unison.

You laugh at the two boys, acknowledging how differently a smile affected their faces. Fred's smile was softer, not necessarily reaching his eyes, but warming his face nonetheless. George's smile was full, his eye's twinkling, and he reflected like sunshine.

"Oh, no one could replace you, Georgie!!" you say, "Fred on the other hand..." 

Everyone laughs in response, except Fred, who's got a smirk on his face, "we'll see about that," he says, only loud enough for his twin to hear.

_________________________

After lunch; you all decide to play Quidditch outside, seeing as Umbridge single handily ruined the sport this year.

Hermoine asks to sit out, claiming to take score for us. While I've never ridden a broom, I was harassed into playing, teams wouldn't be even they said.

After finding an old broom in the shed, Harry and Ron show me how to mount it and take off, l without sliding off the backend. It feels like hours before I can successfully move around without the group worrying for my safety.

We split into teams; Harry, George, and you, while Fred, Ron, and Ginny take the other team. Everyone agreed it was only fair that you were teamed with Harry and George, seeing as you could barely fly, and Harry was the youngest seeker of all time. Hermoine stands below the groups of you and explains the rules, really only speaking to you as she explained how dangerous the game was. Since the teams were so small, Harry and Ginny would be seekers, George and Fred would play both beaters and chasers, while you and Ron were keepers, playing the role of chaser as needed.

Breathing a sigh of relief as they assigned you a task with minimal movement, you head to the hoop you needed to protect. The group decided one hoop was enough, and that three would be overkill. 

As you look over the field the burrow is in, you suddenly hear a loud whistle, signaling the start of the game. You watch a Harry and Ginny circle the field up above, keeping an eye on the snitch. You watch Harry smiling at Ginny, as the girl yells at Ron to "keep his head out his arse because she wants to win."

You notice George has the quaffle and you (very timidly) follow him to Ron's goal. As you try to keep you with George, you spot Fred coming at him with the bludger. As George attempts to miss the hit, he throws the quaffle backwards at you. Without missing a beat, you throw your hands up to catch the ball, completely forgetting for a moment that you're on a broom about 30 feet in the air. Until you begin to fall that is. You lose your balance in an attempt to catch the ball and slide off the back end of your broom, one hand able to grasp it before you plummet completely. 

As you dangle there, one hand on the broom, the other on the quaffle, Fred speeds over to you, trying to help you back on the death trap. He reaches his hand out, and you notice how large it is. 

"Come 'ere Dove, grab my hand." he says, in a panic.

Your hand begins to lose it's grip on the broom as your hands grow clammy with panic.

"Dove, drop the ball and grab my hand," he says growing more panicked.

While you knew that usual quaffles were bewitched to avoid hitting the ground, you weren't sure this one was, and your competitiveness was getting the best of you.

With Fred's hand reaching out at you, his eyes growing wide with fear, you decide to take advantage of the moment, and throw the ball at George, before taking Fred's hand. 

The boy grabs you, and pulls you up with ease. You find yourself surprised at how muscular he was, and how sturdy his grip was on you.

George flies past you two, sending a wink at Fred. As he plants you back on your broom, you keep hold of his wrist. He tries to tug it away, to chase George, but knows that too much force will pull you back down with him.

He tries again and you laugh, knowing he's trapped.

George gains speed on the goal and throws the ball at the hoop, it shooting past Ron's left side and scoring your team 10 points. 

"Dirty trick, Poppy! And here I thought you were a damsel in distress!!" Fred says in mock horror.

George and Harry circle over to you for a high five, impressed by your devilish trick. And Ginny yells a good job in your direction, despite being on the opposite team.

The game continues, but you're quickly distracted by Ginny and Harry wizzing past you, almost throwing you off, again. The two begin a mad chase for something, the snitch you assume.

Ginny dives deep, following it towards the ground, Harry right behind her. As the red head reaches her hand out to grab it, a spot of raven hair quickly ruins the moment, as he throws himself on Ginny in an attempt to grab it first.

The two tumble to the ground, falling about 5 feet and land in a heap on top of each other. 

The rest of you rush over quickly to ensure neither were hurt, but as you approach you hear Ginny laughing.

"Harry, you git! I caught the snitch!" she screams, trying to pull the golden ball away from the golden boy.

"Gin, you only caught it once you hit the ground, doesn't count!!" he responds happily.

Unsure of the rules you turn to Hermoine, the scorekeeper. 

"Well Harry, Ginny DID actually catch the snitch first..." the curly haired girl retorts.

And with that the game ends, Fred, Ron, and Ginny gloating on the way back to the Burrow. 

As you reach the door to the Burrow, the group steps inside to see Molly shuffling around inside. 

"Kids, you're having pizza for dinner," she says frantically. "Have to meet your father in London, asked me on a date." 

You smile at Molly, in awe at how sweet her marriage was after all the years. 

Molly gestures to the 6 pizzas on the table, and looks at you and Hermoine before stepping out.

"You two are in charge, don't let the twins try any of their inventions in my house," she says the last part making eye contact with the twins.

The woman steps inside the floor, saying a name before throwing down floor powder.

"About time! Now the fun begins, and don't hold out on us this time Poppy!!" Fred says at you.

With a wink and a quick curtsey, you run upstairs to grab some party favors for the nights festivities.


	15. Starry Night

As the sun begins to set, you pull out a toiletry bag, which contains your stash. You're sitting on the floor next to Hermoine and Harry, while the Weasley's finish off the last of the pizza. You start to pull out your grinder, along with the weed, and some various other herbs. Hermoine shows an interest in what you're doing and begins to ask questions, Harry raising an eyebrow at the girl in response.

"Harry, if my knowledge is limited only to my studies, then I'd be rather dull, doin't you think. Plus from an academic standpoint, Poppy's beliefs in herbs varies drastically from ours, and it is rather interesting to widen my scope this way."

You continue explaining the herbs and tools to Hermoine, watching her nod of approval as you see just how quickly she learns. You note the change in her attitude towards weed since last time, but assume she needs knowledge before trying something. As the two of them continue to listen to you ramble about how a grinder works, and why it has three compartments, you all turn your attention to the sound of a stampede coming down the stairs.

George and Fred come tumbling down with a bottle of fire whiskey, as Ginny follows behind with a rather heavy looking purse.

She's breathing deeply as she reaches the rest of you, and she mutters about needing to update the charmed purse. She opens the bag to display about 13 bottles of alcohol, all varying degrees of full. "Is that all you've brought?" she says looking at the twins with a look of triumph.

"Godric, Gin, where did you get all this?" the boys say in amazement at her stash.

"Well if you two weren't so bloody troublesome, maybe you'd have better connections around Hogwarts," she said with a grin.

You laugh at her, amazed by how daring she truly was. Ginny was a perfect embodiment of Gryffindor in your mind, and you wished you acquired some of those same traits as well. 

As the three of them begin pouring liquid into cups and passing them around, you turn your attention back to Hermoine.

"So this one here, is marijuana, obviously. You put it in this spot of the grinder, and just twist it so it's fine."

"Can I try?" she asks 

You hand her the grinder and let her grind, while pulling out other herbs from your stash.

"We can mix it with something if you'd like? It adds different properties, and your experience will vary based on the mix. I usually mix it with lavender, to help me relax more, but I also have some wormwood which works to increase libido, rosemary which helps with cognitive function... oh! it looks like I have mushrooms as well, but I think we should stay away from mixing those." and you catch yourself rambling. 

Hermoine still focuses on your words, and you notice you have the attention of the rest of the group as well.

"I'm impartial to what is added," says Hermoine, "Does anyone else have any requests?"

"I'm sure that Frederick is very eager to see how well that wormwood actually works," George says with a quiet snicker.

Fred reaches over and elbows his twin promptly, "Oi twat! You're done for next time we're around Oliver!!"

George's face turns red, and you quickly move the situation forward, not knowing if anyone else knows his secret.

"Wormwood it is!" you say quickly, "after all, it is single's girls weekend!" you say towards Ginny, raising an eyebrow as the space between her and Harry seems non existent. 

You show Hermoine how to add the wormwood to the mixture, and then promptly show her the proper way to roll a joint. Honestly, Hermoine nails it, and you're rather impressed with her quick learning skills. Brightest witch of her time is right.

As you grab your glass, you take a sip of the mysterious liquid. Your face contorting as you swallow the disgusting thing. 

"Are you guys trying to kill me?" you cough, feeling your and chest warm up as the fluid made its way to your stomach.

"Well we are rather limited on mixers," Ron says, "so that's uhm- fire whiskey and grapefruit juice."

You drop your mouth open at him and George and Fred begin to laugh at your pain. 

"Mate, don't make me a drink," says George to Ron. At his words, you reach over to try and open his mouth with your hands, hoping to rid your glass of more of the nasty drink. George closes his lips shut aggressively, puckering them to ensure not even a drop of the fluid will come near him. You start to laugh and Fred begins to try and open his twins mouth as well, as you struggle against George, Fred lets go for another approach, causing you to fall flat on George.

The two of you laughing on the floor, and George reaches over to tickle your side, causing you even more joy. Once you're both composed, you notice your glass is still full, unfortunately. You also notice Harry and Ron staring at you two, with raised eyebrows, as if they witnessed something intimate.

You plop a wet kiss on George's lips, loving your friend dearly.

"Alright Hermoine, let's see your work!" Fred says as he pulls the blunt from Hermoine's finger tips, using his wand to light the thing. He wraps his lips around the thing, and suddenly you feel butterflies in your stomach at the sight. You quickly look away, hoping no one noticed your enticing stare. 

"Bloody brilliant, Hermoine. And Poppy, you never disappoint." he says through a puff. The joint is quickly passed around, everyone complimenting Hermoine's rolling skills in the meantime. As it gets to Ron, you'd think he'd been hit by a truck. His tolerance for either weed or alcohol was rather low, because in about 10 minutes he was already growing more and more open about his interest in Hermoine. 

As the mixture of drugs and alcohol loosens you all up, the group decides to play never have I ever. The rules were simple, say something you hadn't done, and everyone that had done that thing, takes a drink.

"I"ll go first!" Ginny pips. "Never have I ever... skinny dipped."

Looking around, you notice the only people to drink were Fred, Hermoine, and yourself.

"Her-Hermoine!" exclaimed Ron, subtly thrown at the wind.

"Ronald, I'm not completely dull you know! I dated Krum last year, and we went in the Black lake one night."

"AT SCHOOL!! HERMOINE JEAN GRANGER!!" the youngest Weasley brother yelled in shock.

You all laugh and Hermoine shrugs her shoulders, everyone turning their attention towards you now. "I'm a hippie," you say with a shrug. "Now what about you Fred?"

"Angelina Johnson, small celebration for a Quidditch win." he responds proudly.

You feel your stomach grow tight, unsure what to make of your bodily response, you decide to move on.

"Never have I ever had a crush on my best friend's sister," you say, making eye contact with Harry.

He sheepily takes a drink, and Ron looks over at him flabbergasted. 

"My own sister! Harry!" Ron exclaims.

Harry's face turns red, and Ginny immediately reaches to hold his hand, shooting daggers at Ron for harassing Harry. At this, Harry visibly relaxes, and goes next. And you all laugh at how classless Ron really is.

"Never have I ever... uhm... shagged someone at Hogwarts?" he says.

You quickly swallow your drink, along with George. The two of you raise eyebrows at each other, you already know who his partner was, but yours was a mystery to the group.

"Pops! You have to tell me!! Tell me!!" he hollers at you with excitement.

You could NEVER admit it was Draco, there was so much bad blood between them all, and with valid reason. You knew your friends had every right to hate him, and you knew that Draco believed he did as well. But you could never betray any of them, your loyalty ran too deep. Plus it wasn't up to you to choose sides, when everyone had been perfectly fair to you.

"Erm- uhm- well just some Slytherin... nothing serious, only once" you say matter of factly.

George reaches for a high five, and you notice Fred ball his fist up before abruptly standing. "Getting a refill, anyone need anything?" he says, not even waiting for an answer from the group.

Hermoine goes next, not missing a beat, and definitely knowing not to intrude more. "Never have I ever... erm... kissed someone in this room!"

Hell, you've kissed half the people in this room, whether romantic or not. You decided it only fair to finish your drink, and spot George, Fred, and Harry all take a swig as well.

"Harry? Who have you kissed?" she asks.

Harry sheepily looks over at you, asking silently for help. 

"Me, obviously," George speaks up, not wanting his little sister to be hurt by Harry and your small fling.

Harry mouths a silent 'thank you' to George before moving on. 

"What about you Poppy?" Ron asks stupidly. Idiot, you think to yourself, hoping he wouldn't out Harry in front of Ginny. 

"Well, uhm, Fred, and uhm- and my personal favorite, George." you say with a wink. Hoping no one outs Harry to Ginny.

Hermoine looks at you for a moment, before responding. "Oh my god! Poppy! I kissed you at the Gryffindor party" she laughs and takes a drink.

"The Gryffindor party!!!" Ginny says as she takes a drink as well. "in that case, I've kissed Hermoine AND Poppy," she takes a second drink, laughing as well.

You look at the two confused before remembering in bits, the night you blacked out, to wake up in George's bed.

The boys, still with shock in their face, all begin asking different variations of the same question, almost at rapid fire speed.

"Well, I've only kissed a few boys, and I wasn't sure if I fancied girls..." says Hermoine. "So Poppy kissed me, as sort of a science experiment. I wasn't sure I like it, so Ginny tried as well. Turns out they aren't my cup of tea," she says with a shrug.

Gaping faces turn to you and Ginny. "I felt it was rather obvious that I liked girls and guys," you respond.

"While I do fancy girls as well as guys, Dean was being a prat that night, and I couldn't possibly miss out on kissing my friends, especially when they looked so good that night." Ginny says, this threw her brothers for a loop. Their innocent little sister!

And you could tell she was trying to contain her hysterics as their minds tried not to implode.

"Naughty Dove, you were rather friendly that night, I reckon!" Fred says with a laugh.

You shove your face into your hands and groan, "I've kissed half of you damned Weasley's!!"

The group laughs at your pain and the game slowly comes to close. As it grows later into the night, the room slowly starts to empty, and you're left with the twins. 

You excuse yourself from the two to step outside, knowing there's no place you'd rather be right now than in the field with the stars.

You grab a sweater off the hook, not looking at who's it was, and step into the chilly December air. You walk until you find a clearing, and lay down, staring at the stars overhead, silently identifying them as you go.

Suddenly you hear footsteps coming your direction, and reach for your wand, unsure of what was to come. After a few moments, you spot a twin, though unsure which one it was in the dark. He sits next to you, and as your eyes adjust you notice its Fred. You drop your wand next to you.

"Bloody cold out here, if only someone hadn't stolen my jumper.." he says, teasing you.

You look down at the sweater you were wearing and now notice the giant F plastered on the front.

"oh! Here Fred, have it back! I was just going back in," you say hastily, as you go to remove the sweater.

"Dovey, keep it on. It looks rather good on you," he says, as you see his eyes trace your outline. "And don't go, please?"

Growing thankful for the darkness, knowing your blush couldn't be contained at his words, as they handsomely enveloped you.

You sit there, eyes going back to the sky, your neck growing warm as you feel his look still on you. A shiver rolls through your body, as the night air is unkind to you.

Fred loops his arm around you, and scoots you into him. He keeps his arm around your waist, and you rest your head into his shoulder, letting his touch warm you up.

He knew he could cast a warming charm on the area, but this was so much better.

With your head in his chest, you inhaled deeply, savoring his smell of gunpowder and butter beer. While he kept his arm protectively around your waist, shielding you from the cold, he let his other arm reach up, allowing himself to caress your face with his thumb. 

You look up at the boy, finally allowing yourself to acknowledge the beauty in him. His face was fair, his arms muscular and long, and the freckles dotting his cheeks reminded you of the stars.

Feeling the warmth of his hand against your cheek was sending your heart into fits, the moment growing warm between you.

Fred gently pulls your face towards his and kisses you deeply. You move into him more, hoping to savor the moment before it ends. 

You slide onto Fred's lap and his hand runs behind your neck, and he works his mouth against yours.

His tongue slides gently between your lips, and you suck on it, allowing your hands to run through his hair.

As you suck unexpectedly on his tongue, you feel a hardness growing underneath you, and you pull Fred in deeper, not getting enough of his taste.

Fred brushes locks out of your face, and gently bites your lip as he pulls from the kiss. Still sitting on him, the two of you stare at each other, wondering what the hell just happened.

As a moment passes, you can see Fred's face growing red, and he quickly moves you off of him as he realizes his length was definitely prodding you.

"Dovey! I'm so sorry, I- I'm so embarrassed, I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable!" he says quickly, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear.

"Don't be emabarrassed, Fred! Completely natural, no judgment, I promise," you say, sticking pinky towards him. He hastily wraps his own, rather large pinky around yours, and your mind wonders if what they say is true...

"So, erm- the Slytherin, is it anything serious?" he asks timidly.

"No, I don't suppose it is, it just kind of happened, you know?" there is a beat of silence between you two, "What about you and Angelina? she is a rather pretty girl."

"Angelina fancies me, a lot, well maybe she fancies George, or maybe she can't tell us apart. But I've got my eye on the hot new American," he responds with a wink.

His words wash over you, before swallowing you whole, and crashing into warmth. You let your hand find his, and grab, hoping to never let go.


	16. Christmas at The Burrow

The past few says flew by quickly as you shared stolen kisses with Fred, careful not to let the others in on your secret. Of course you liked Fred, and he had shared that he liked you too, but you felt you couldn't be his, completely his, until you could properly reject Draco. You knew that you didn't technically owe Draco that information, you had only hooked up twice, and the stolen glances in Astronomy didn't call for wedding bells, but you felt wrong to move forward with Fred without being honest with Draco first. Karma was a bitch, and you didn't feel like tempting fate. Plus Fred deserved better than that, he and Draco both. 

Dad had arrived a few days ago, and he was eager to meet your new friends, and hear all about your new school. You gave him the basics, and told him about how your new British friends thought American weed was the best thing since sliced bread. He laughed hard, and promised not to tell Molly or Arthur about their little rendezvous. 

You asked him about his new role, still unsure of what exactly he was doing for the Ministry. Apparently the Ministry of Magic wanted to bring back the Herbology department, as they felt they needed to begin regulating the use of certain plants. It was a rather small department, but he enjoyed it, and because it was new, he had yet to face as many regulations as the other departments were. While going over his role, Hermoine asked him for a business card, said she had the perfect Gryffindor to hand it to, should he need an intern. Dad had met Mr. Weasley on his first day, he said the man came running in to his room, excited to meet his new colleague who worked closely with Muggles prior to his new role. After asking him about the use of chalkboard, they soon became friends, hence our invite for Christmas.

As you sat cross legged on the floor, Molly began to bring in plates of pastries, signaling the beginning of the Christmas festivities. She plops a tray of elderberry tarts in your hand, and you quickly take one before passing it around. 

While you listen to Hermoine tell your dad about how brilliant Neville is with plants, you notice that presents are soon set in front of everyone, and you're thankful that you remembered to bring yours down the night before.

You opened your gifts, and felt your heart fill at the thoughtfulness of it all. You had received some beautiful sweaters from your dad, a new set of parchment and quills from Hermoine, Harry and Ron had gifted you some other Wizarding candy they thought you needed to try, Ginny gave you a book on charms, and Molly and Arthur gifted you a beautiful gold sweater with a black 'P' on it. You quickly thanked everyone, feeling tears well in your eyes. You brushed them away as someone spoke to you.

"Poppy, was that it?" said George 

"Uhm, yes it was." you respond

"You git! Where's our gift!" George says to Fred.

"You were supposed to wrap it!"

"You had it last, why would I wrap it?!" 

You stare at the twins arguing before letting out a small cough, "so is there another gift?" 

George runs upstairs to grab it, and drops a cold object in your hand.

You open your hand to see a silver charm bracelet. The bracelet is beautiful, and adorned with a lavender charm, a G, an F, a bludger, and a dove charm. This time you're unable to control your emotions, and tears now flow freely as you stare at the beautiful gift.

Jumping up, you throw yourself on the twins, pulling them both into a hug at once. 

"Reckon she likes it?" Fred asks George.

You look up at them both and give them each a small kiss on the cheek, showing your gratitude. 

Everyone else opens up their gifts as well, you see everyone received a similar sweater to the one Molly gave you, even Dad.

As present opening wraps up, Dad begins to hum a Christmas song, strolling over to you he reaches his hand down. Immediately knowing what comes next, he pulls you up and begins to spin you around the room. You smile at him as he explains how you this was your mother's favorite tradition. At hearing this, Arthur promptly jumps up to dance with Molly as well, and soon the house is full of music and dancing.

The festivities continue through the day, and you remind yourself of how lucky you are to have your new family.


	17. Ending Things

Your time at the Burrow had ended, and Dad sent you back to Hogwarts with remorse, and promised a fun vacation once the semester was over and he could see you again. 

Apparently Hogwarts didn't have Spring Break, but they gave us a lengthy Easter break? And unfortunately Dad had to go to Russia during this time for a work trip, and Molly graciously invited you to spend Easter with them.

As you get back to Hogwarts, you feel your stomach growing in knots. It was a new semester. It also meant a schedule change. 

Dumbledore had felt great progress with you since your arrival. You were now scheduled to have classes with your own year, besides potions, which would remain your only advanced class. This terrified you, the only friend you had in your year was Emily, the rest were all younger than you, besides the twins.

Knowing this, Emily was promised that you'd have all your classes together, and told Dumbledore that if you didn't, she'd die of heart break. Quite dramatic, you thought. But it did achieve the proper results.

As you and Emily sat in the Great Hall for lunch, you told her that today was the day. 

You began to feel restless in your chair, as you knew that you needed to address Malfoy soon. Shit, Draco, you thought. A few weeks with his worst enemies and you were taking on their habits already. 

"To talk to Draco? Are you sure??" she asked quietly, "why don't you keep shagging him? I thought it was good?"

"Emily, it IS good, but Fred doesn't deserve that..."

"So you DID sleep with Fred!! Does George know?!" she exclaims quietly

"Emily, I didn't sleep with Fred!! We just kissed!!"

"Hmmm.... lame," she says with a chortle.

You rolled your eyes at her and reach into Emily's bag to steal some parchment. 

After grabbing Emily's parchment, your quill, and some of your red ink, you and Emily begin to construct a proper note to him. 

Simple. Straightforward.

'Draco-

It's been a while, new class schedule.

Meet me behind the tapestry. 7 minutes.

Poppy'

Once you had written the letter, you hand it to Emily who is about to charm it to fly over to him at the Slytherin table, when Blaise walks by.

"Oh, B! Perfect!" she says before kissing her boyfriend. "Give this to Draco for us please?"

The two of you watch Blaise walk to Slytherin's table, and plop down next to the blonde, handing him the slip of paper in the process.

You watch Draco open the slip of paper and then immediately slide it in his pocket.

Knowing it's now or never, you start to stand. Emily places her hand around the small of your waist and leans her head against your stomach.

"Good luck Pops."

You swallow the invisible knot in your throat and head to the meeting spot. 

The tapestry blocked a secret passage way around the corner from the great hall, and was one of the first places Ron showed you, as he frequently used it to avoid Hermoine's library sessions.

Once you reach the entrance of the passage, you cast a small lumos charm before heading inside. You lean your back against the wall and wait for your guest. It seems like an eternity until you hear Draco arrive.

"It's been far too long," he whispers into your ear, letting his lips graze it in the process. 

"Erm- that's not why I called you here. I'm actually getting quite fond of someone, and I thought you deserved to know before word gets out.."

"We're just having sex, Pops, not bloody dating," Draco responds with a scoff.

"I'm well aware, I just knew the guilt would eat me up if I didn't tell you about Fred," you say, biting back tears at his unexpected harshness.

"Fred? One of the Weasel's? Better him than that dim witted one Potter hangs out with, I suppose."

You bit your lip, unsure where the hostility came from. You had known he was mean, but he was never mean around you.

"Don't say that about them, they're wonderful people" you say, bile rising in your chest.

"Don't talk to me like that, I call the shots." Draco says seductively.

Seductively? What. The. Fuck. Poppy.

His cold hand finds your neck and grabs it, "I'll make you feel unlike anything he can do for you," he says as his dark blue eyes lock onto yours.

Draco uses his grip on your neck to pull you into his lips, and he bites your bottom lip, drawing some blood.

Almost as if on queue, you give into your desire for him. 

One last time, you thought. 

The blonde boy reaches down and throws your robes off of you, discarding your tie and shirt as well. 

As your mouth crashes into his, your fingers nimbly unbutton his shirt, making way to his belt soon after. When your finger graces his defined v-shape, his breathe hitches in, causing warmth to spread to your legs. 

You reach down to remove your skirt before his hand grabs your wrists and shove them over your head.

"I'm going to fuck you in that skirt," he says with a devilish grin.

You suck in your breathe, knowing you're wet as a coastal storm. Draco slips his finger down between your legs, and palms the outside of your underwear.

As the moans of ecstasy come to your throat, he slides your damp panties to the side, letting his fingers tease you.

His lips find your neck and he makes little love bites across it, working down to your chest, a trail of marks left behind.

You reach your hand down to find his bulge filling his pants. You unzip him and his member springs free, showing you his full length.

Almost as if on cue, the tapestry entrance springs open and bodies slide inside. You hear footsteps run past and the new guests breathe heavily as if they were being chased.

Your fight or flight kicks in, and unfortunately it's just freeze. You stand there for what feels like hours, before something finally happens.

"Oh FUCK," you hear a voice groan, as they realize what they walked in on. 

George. And your quickly eyes trail to his counterpart, 

Fred.

As your eyes adjust, you see Fred's body stiffen, realizing what he walked in on. You and Draco.

You reach down to grab your robes, and dress as quickly as humanly possible.

George shoves his twin out of the room and into the hallway, though you're unsure if it was for your sake or Fred's.

Once you've dressed yourself, you rush out after them, trying to mend the situation.

Fred stomps towards Gryffindor and you can feel the anger radiating off him, George trying his best to level with him as he follows.

"Fred! Fred! Let me explain!!" you chase behind them, your feet slamming against the ground.

"DRACO? Bloody Draco Malfoy!!! THAT's the Slytherin?" Fred turns, fuming at you. "He's a twat to my whole family, and your friends, and half the damned school, but you still chose to FUCK him?" 

Fred is now yelling, and George stands to the side, his face full of hurt, they're both so upset. And it's all your fault.

"Fred, I- I came to talk to him, to tell him I couldn't do this anymore, It wasn't fair to you, and I like you so much, and I knew I needed to tell him first. I-"

Fred cuts you off. "Whatever this was, between us, it's done. Come on, George. Didn't realize you were such a whore, Poppy." he says, spewing his venomous words at you.

George looks shocked at what his brother called you, but ultimately followed him. 

You had committed the ultimate betrayal.


	18. Shock

You stand in the hallway, staring at the empty space in front of you. In shock at how poorly it all went so quickly.

Someone comes running out of the great hall, and shakes you from your place.

"Poppy? Come on, we need to get out of here," Emily says.

You look over to her as if in a trance. Ginny is standing behind her, a look of concern.

Emily and Ginny guide you to your room, and you blindly follow, letting the darkness cloud your brain.

How could I do that?

Not only did I lose Fred, but George too?

Is this fixable?

What do I do?

All over Draco Malfoy...

You're lost in yourself until you feel yourself being pushed on to your bed.

"Poppy, tell us what happened," Ginny demands, as Emily stands next to her.

You begin to confess your sins to Ginny, telling her about the afternoon in Hogsmeade, the sex you had in the broom closet, and your latest fuck up in the secret passageway. 

Ginny listens attentively, and sits down as your sobs begin to break free. Emily takes your other side and plays with your hair while you cry on Ginny's shoulder.

"Poppy, I can't tell you what to do, but just hear me out, okay? I don't know much about Draco, just that he's terribly rude to us. You're a smart girl, you know that. But I also believe you when you say you wouldn't hurt Fred. Fred doesn't own you... he hasn't even really been honest with himself about how he feels. George will come around, he's the level headed one. Give Fred space, Hermoine and I will try to talk to him."

"Wh-where is Hermoine?" you ask, realizing the absence of her.

"She stayed with Harry and Ron, they're rather hurt as well... unfortunately word gets out quick when Draco is involved, and Fred was necessarily quite when he was yelling at you, I think the entire castle might have heard...."

Your eyes grow big, and tears swell up in them again, as you realize how large this got, how quickly.

"We're skipping classes today to stay with you," Emily says. "You don't need to deal with all the gossip, I'll have Ponpie bring us food."

Emily gets up to run you a bath, and Ginny conjures some wine from her room for you all to share.

Once the water is done, you drag yourself to the bathroom, hoping to strip the dirty day off of yourself. Ginny and Emily follow you in, and sit next to the tub as you let the hot water wash over you.

Tears seem to come and go all day, and your mind is exhausted as you try to figure out a game plan.

The three of you turn your head as your dorm door begins to creak open. Ginny gets up off the bathroom floor and yells, "get out twat!!!"

"Ginny, let me see Poppy," the voice pleads quietly. "I skipped my divination class to come here, it's just me."

"She's naked you idiot!" Ginny yells back

"....Ginny, I'm gay." George says quietly.

"UGH, it's about time you finally told me!! We'll talk about you later."

Ginny lets George in, hugs him quickly, and he joins the girls on the floor. 

"Po-Poppy, what happened?" he asks, letting the hickies on your body do most of the talking.

Your mouth turns into a frown, and you once again recollect what went wrong.

"I'm sorry George, let me say that first. I love you, and I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I- I'm just so dumb. That day in Hogsmeade... the bathroom screamer... was me. I ran into Draco on my way to the bathroom and something just, happened. We messed around in the bathroom, and I was so embarrassed that everyone had heard, that I couldn't possibly tell you all. And then the day after my date with Harry-" you stop yourself immediately and look up, completely forgetting Ginny was in the room.

"I'm sorry Ginny, it was just one date, it meant nothing, for either of us."

"Don't worry, Poppy, Harry already told me! You can keep going, I'm not upset with you anymore," she says at you. Her forgiveness meant more than she knew.

You look back at George and sigh, "okay so after my date with Harry, I ran into him standing with Emily and Blaise... and, I don't know, he was so dominant, so...hot," you say sheepishly. "Anyway, he kind of... took me in a broom closet. It was so good, and messy, and freeing, But purely physical. I didn't see him after that, and then Christmas came... and I just, got a crush on Fred. He's been so flirty and cool to hangout with, and sweet, and so smart. And after he kissed me in the field, I knew I was done for. I wanted to be serious with Fred, claim my territory, and I was going to tell him that, but I wanted to properly cut Draco off first. I know you all hate him, but I'm just not like that, I couldn't just not explain myself..." you look up, trying to gauge his reaction. He nods at you to keep going.

"Anyway, when we got back, I finally worked up the courage to talk to him, so Emily helped me write a note so he could meet me. I wanted it to be private, that was probably dumb, I don't know. But so I met him, and told him about Fred, and.. he became possessive over me. It's like a switch flips. I know you all don't know what I mean, but it was carnal, it was like the thought of him no longer having me was too much. It was sexy, I'll admit, and I told myself this would be it, just one final hoorah, and then I could completely be with Fred, no guilt. And uh- that's when you two walked in.... The rest is history."

George sits there silently, digesting your story before saying anything.

"My feelings are hurt, Poppy. I know you didn't intend to hurt me, that I believe, and I want you to be happy, I just felt blindsided by Draco is all. I wish you had told me." he says.

"I know George, can you forgive me? I won't keep secrets from you anymore, from any of you," you say to the group.

George gives you a weak smile and leans to kiss your forehead. "I'll forgive you, Poppy, but... my feelings will still be hurt for a little while. Okay?"

"Thanks, Georgie. I don't know what I'd do without you."

________________________

George left your dorm room a few hours ago, he needed to get back to his next class before Fred became too suspicious of his whereabouts.

Leaving you, Ginny, and Emily. The two of them pushed all the beds together to make a giant area to lay on, and you let Ginny braid your hair while Emily sent an owl to Blaise, telling him she'd be MIA for the day.

You still hadn't figured out how to make things better, but you figured it best to listen to Ginny, she was right about George after all. 

Hermoine sent a note saying she'd join you three this afternoon once lessons were over, and that she'd bring your missed classwork as well.

Around 4 pm, Emily went down to let Hermoine in, and your eyes almost popped out of your head once you saw Harry and Ron trailing in after her.

You sat up quickly hoping this was a good sign. Hermoine ran to the bed and hugged you, profusely apologizing for not being a good friend that you could confide in. 

"Mione, no, I'm sorry. I should have told you. I knew he called you a mud blood but I didn't realize the severity of it. It's as atrocious as saying the n-word."

"Well, yes, actually. I forget that you're new to the wizarding world sometimes," she replies.

"N-word?" Ginny questions.

You and Hermoine both ignore her comment, that's another day's lesson. You turn to look at the boys, who are both staring at the ground.

"Harry...Ron..." you start.

"He calls me Weasel, Poppy! And he he's evil!! Vile! The worst kind of vile!" Ron exclaims

"Ron!! I know!! He was always so nice to me, and I don't like him, I like Fred! It was just fooling around!" you try to cover.

"Fred? But what about you and George!!" Harry says angrily.

Ginny laughs at her oblivious boyfriend, and Emily follows.

Confused, Harry moves on, "He works With Voldemort, poppy! He's the enemy!"

"Oh Harry, we don't know that..." says Hermoine. "Poppy knows she messed up, and Fred already chewed her out for all of us... Poppy, I speak for all of us when I say that just wish you told us. While I find Malfoy rather vile, I can see the appeal..."

"...I guess I can't be too upset, you said it's just physical... and at least one of us is getting laid," Ron says, coming around.

"RONALD!" Hermoine says, punching his arm.

"Well it's true..."

You look to Harry, one of the last people you need to win over.

"Well, if Ginny has forgiven you, I suppose I have to as well..."

"Oh thank you, thank you!!" you say, throwing your arms around the two boys. "I promise not to keep secrets anymore, not matter how awkward it might be."

While the tension was still there, it was visibly reduced, and the boys excused themselves to dinner, still needing some time to fully accept you again. 

Hermoine, Ginny, Emily, and I laid on the beds, and Hermoine filled you all in on all the gossip that spread today, as you had all locked yourselves away for the day.

"Pansy is the worst. She's always had a crush on Draco, and apparently he's been reducing his 'sessions' with her since you showed up. She's been spreading particularly nasty remarks around."

You rolled your eyes, Pansy didn't phase you, she looked like a rat. Acted like one too.

"Okaayyyy, what else?"

"Well, Blaise did tell her and Daphne to 'sod off you vile toads.' I was rather impressed," Hermoine says, this time looking at Emily as she compliments the girls boyfriend.

Emily's eyes beam with pride, before Hermoine can deal the final blow.

"Erm- last thing, did you happen to lose your tie? Because Draco has been wearing it around all day, like a sort of, erm, trophy..."

Your eyes grow dark at this. That vile. Filthy. Horrendous. FERRET. Ginny doubles your anger almost immediately.

"That FUCKING prat," she yells. "I'm going to hex his arse!!" she yells before storming out of the room.

There was no way Draco withstood a run in with Ginny. You counted your blessings that she forgave you for Harry. Because she scared the daylights out of you when she was mad.

With Ginny gone, Emily tries to soothe the situation over. 

"Don't worry, Poppy. It's just Draco, he sleeps with loads of girls... you'll be forgotten by the end of this week!" she says, and while her words send a sense of jealousy through you, it does help knowing this will of course blow over.

You practice some breathing techniques and close your eyes, hoping your heart rate slows down soon. Hermoine and Emily both cuddle up to you, knowing the way to your heart was love. Their touch is comforting, and you let your friends ground you, bringing you back to Earth as you slowly fall into a fitful sleep.


	19. Potions and Pouts

I woke up the next morning in a daze, my eyes were groggy, and my head hurt. As the light filters in the room, I look to my left and see Emily still on our monstrous bed sleeping soundly, blanket thrown off of her. Upon further inspection, it seems Ginny didn't come back and Hermoine is gone.

I gently nudge my sleeping friend awake when I realize we have 45 minutes until our first class. Throwing myself together, I decided to forgo a shower, opting to splash some cold water on my face instead, hoping it'll help with the puffiness of yesterday's crying.

Emily slides into the bathroom as I'm looking for my mascara and quickly fires a beauty spell, I watch in the mirror as the magic takes shape.

My skin begins to glow warm, instead of blotchy. My eyes lost their puffiness and the bags under my eyes are gone as well. My hair loosens, and all sense of frizz is gone, I can feel the plaque stripping off my teeth as well, the sense of morning breathe leaving the room. I look over to Em as her spell begins to finish on herself as well.

"You've had this up your sleeve and never thought to show me?" you demand

Emily laughs with a shrug, "how do you think I get ready so fast?"

With her new skill discovered, you both suddenly have more than enough time until class, and you head to the great hall for breakfast.

As you enter the room and head for the Hufflepuff table, you do your best to ignore the whispers that float around.

It wasn't nearly as bad as you had imagined. No whispers about you being a bad friend. Or sleeping with a death eater.

Just typical slut shaming.

While still horrendous, it bounces off your back. We really should be over slut shaming by now.

Emily plops down at the table and you follow suite. To you surprise, you're suddenly overcome with conversation, as the Hufflepuff tables comes alive around you.

You smile inwardly, Hufflepuff really was the perfect house for you. Your house seems to ignores the drama of yesterday, as everyone does their best to include you on conversation. We truly were the nicest house, fuck all the slander.

As breakfast continues; you start to meet more Hufflepuffs in your year, easing your tension of classes. Since your schedule was so sporadic last semester; most of your friends were Gryffindor's and of course, younger than you.

Everyone is so nice, and they all genuinely don't seem to care about the gossip that they may have heard, instead pulling you into their kindness.

You soon forget about your worries with Fred, as Emily talks to a boy you met in a DA meeting, Ernie Macmillan. The two discuss politics as they pour over the Daily Prophet.

As you find a moment of peace, everyone starts to clear out, heading to class.

As quickly as the nerves were gone, they were soon back as you realized you had Potions next.

_______________

You head to Potions, determined to fix things with Fred, hoping that George had talked some sense into his twin since yesterday.

Head held high, you open the door to potions, hoping your fear wouldn't get the best of you.

But as you spot your seat next to Fred and George, it's full.

A confused look runs across your face as you realize who claimed it as their own. Angelina.

Angelina. The Angelina who fancies Fred so much. The same Angelina who went skinny dipping with him.

Ouch.

Okay. It hurt. But you deserved it. You tried to maintain your cool, while simultaneously pushing the bile that was rising, back down.

You reach down and play with your charm bracelet, rubbing the dove, hoping the universe will bring you peace.

As you look around the room, you're shoved to the side, as someone harshly bumps against you. Confused, you look up to see Fred, bounding towards your seat. Towards Angelina.

"Blimey. I'm sorry Poppy, he was being an outright prat yesterday. Wouldn't listen to anything Ginny or I would say. Even Ron tried to tell him it was just sex, but I think that pushed him overboard." you hear George say behind you.

George was too good. Too pure. Which made you love him harder, you truly didn't deserve his friendship, hell, you didn't deserve any of your friendships right now.

"Come on, I'll come sit with you."

You follow George to an empty table, and as the two of you sit down, a loud cackle erupts from Fred's table. You both look up at Fred tickling Angelina's side, her laughing profusely as she begs him to stop.

Just focus on the lesson, Poppy. Focus.

You turn your attention towards Snape as he begins to list page numbers. You open your book as instructed and begin to take notes alongside George.

A book drops to the floor, drawing your attention to find its owner.

"Poppy, don't look." George says. "Poppy"

But it's too late. Whether intentional, or not, Fred's book now lay on the floor, and you see his lips on Angelina's. The two are locked in a passionate embrace, as you watch Fred snake his arm around her waist pulling her closer to him.

It's like a car crash. You can't keep looking. But you can't look away.

The scene moves in slow motion, Fred pulling Angelina in close. Angelina grabbing his neck, pulling him toward her. Fred wrapping his arm around her, doing the same. The kissing. The kissing. The kissing.

You can't stop the bile from coming up this time. So you swallow it back down.

A sigh escapes your lips; and jealousy lays in your chest like a dumbbell.

You feel George reach over to grab your hand, squeezing it.

"Poppy, ignore him. It's not worth it."

You begin to tear your eyes away from Fred and Angelina; but not before seeing them break away, and Fred sending a knowing wink your away.

I deserve it.


	20. Slytherin

A few weeks had gone by since your encounter with Fred, but the whispers were dying down throughout the school. You still got glances, but mostly from the Slytherin boys, who Blaise struggled to reign in.

After another awkward potions class, Emily meets you out of the room, taking on the role of chauffeur for the rest of the day. You follow her to deviations, thankful that it'll be just the two of you for the rest of the day. Thankful you can avoid Fred.

Emily can sense your unease, ignores it, knowing it will only make your mood worse. You struggle through the day, blindly following Emily through the castle.

You weren't paying much attention to her today, you knew that, she knew that, but her presence helped. She always helped. As your day drew to a close, you followed her to the library, actually utilizing your assigned study period.

Will everyday be this bad?

How long will it last?

Easter is soon, can I still go to the burrow?

Before you know it, you and Emily have found a table. As she unpacks her bag, you wander off to go find a book on transfigurations, hoping to boost your grade in McGonnegal's class. After finding a rather heavy book, you make your way back to Emily, throwing yourself in a seat, thankful to be free of the books weight.

As you sit down, you realize your table is full. And you scowl as you notice your new guests. Blaise and Draco.

Emily has her arm around Blaise, and while you actually enjoy his company, he happens to be Draco's friend. Collateral damage.

You scowl at Draco, and if looks could kill, he'd have dropped dead a while ago.

"Poppy," he says curtly. "If I had known I'd see you here, I would have brought your tie back."

"If I had known I'd see you here, I'd have brought some treats, Ferret." you spit back at him.

A smile crosses his face, only for a minute, before disappearing. You turn your attention back to your book as you finger through it. Trying to block out his presence.

You knew it wasn't his fault, what happened with Fred. You surely could have been stronger to suppress your desires. But still, he kept your tie as some sort of fuck trophy, and it made your blood boil. You weren't a prize.

Once you come across the chapter needed for your paper, you begin to take notes, shutting your brain down.

"Poooppppppyyyyy, earth to Poppy!!" Emily whines

"Yes, Em?" you say to your friend, your voice more irritated than you intended.

"I was just telling Blaise about how rough your week has been, he asked us to hangout tonight? Wanna go to Slytherin? Apparently Draco has some KILLER wine in his stash...." Emily says, her eye lashes batting at you with please. She's been waiting to finally sleep with Blaise, you knew this, but you knew she was too nervous to go over there alone, afraid of what Pansy might say.

"UGH, fine, but you two owe me," you respond, dread in your voice as you try to cover it up with a forced laugh.

"Yay!! Thank you, Pops!! Okay, so we'll go back and get dressed, then head to Slytherin dorm. Should we bring weed, Poppy? Anyway, Blaise, let us in around... 30 minutes from now?" she exclaims, jumping up from her seat before you can even fathom what happened.

Emily grabs your wrist and drags you out of the library behind her, running quicker than you thought she could.

As you reach Hufflepuff, she bounds up the stairs, and you struggle to keep up.

Once you finally reach your room, you peer in, it looked like a bomb had gone off.

Emily was trying to find an outfit, and clothes laid everywhere.

You change into some leggings and a cropped sweater before attempting to help Emily.

"Casual, but cute. But also not something that says I'm trying too hard. Oh. And easy to get off," she says between ragged breaths.

After a few minutes, Emily is dressed. She settled on some joggers, a longline bralette, and a hoodie zipped 1/4 of the way up. She did look cute. And casual. And easily accessible.

You take her in, reflecting on her beauty, she was pretty, and the happiness Blaise brought her made he radiate like the sun.

"So, weed? I'm really nervous about tonight, and I don't know if wine will do it for me..." she says

"Uhm, I'm actually out of weed right now, but I have mushrooms? I think if you take a small amount you'll be okay, and honestly, sex on mushrooms? chefs kiss." you respond with a wink.

"You're the boss, my fate, and orgasm are in your hands," she responds with a laugh.

You quickly grab the toiletry bag that houses your drugs, and the two of you head to Slytherin, knowing Blaise is waiting.

Once you reach the dungeons, Blaise walks towards the two of you.

"The common rooms are a little crowded right now... but we're going to head up to our dorm room, okay? Uhm... try to ignore them, Poppy?" Blaise says, attempting to ease your nerves. It doesn't work, but he tried, and that was enough to bring you some comfort.

Emily reaches for your hand, opting to hold it instead of Blaise's, and you both follow him through the entrance.

Slytherin's common room is dark, covered in greens and blacks. It reeks of money, and wealth, and privilege, but is beautiful all the same. Tufted sofas and solid wood cover the room, and you hold your breathe, still amazed at how different every house is.

The two of follow Blaise deeper into the Slytherin Dungeons, and you trace circles with your thumb against Emily's hand. You know she's nervous, and the worst was over for you, whereas her night was just beginning.

Once inside Blaise's dorm, you spot Draco sitting on his bed, appearing rather bored with his new intruders.

"Malfoy," you say, letting the familiarity between you two dissipate.

"Well, uh, we kicked Crabbe and Goyle out for the night, about time if you asked me, I'm tired of Goyle's midnight eating, and Crabbe's dreadful snoring," Blaise says, hoping to distract from the hostility.

"Poppy brought American drugs! They're really fun! Draco, grab that wine will ya?" Emily says hurriedly, nerves still radiating off her, the sunny attitude replaced with clouds.

You open your bag and grab out some shrooms, and pass take one, before offering some to the others.

"Drugs will get you expelled," said Draco curiously

"Only if I get caught," you respond dryly, watching as Blaise pops once in his mouth.

Draco looks at you with shock and.... awe? He gets off his bed and opens his trunk, reaching his arm deep into the chest, before pulling out a few bottles of wine.

"1877, pinot noir, stole it off my Mum during Christmas break." he says, as he enchants the bottle to pour everyone a glass.

He sits on the floor next to you, and you watch as he brings the glass to his lips, a droplet of red falling down his chin. He brings his thumb up, wiping it off, before placing the thumb in his mouth, sucking it clean.

You're staring.

You suck a breathe in, and hope your heartbeat slows down. You lick your lips in instinct, and Draco looks over as you do. Feeling the crimson come to your cheeks, you look at Blaise.

"So... how're you feeling with the shrooms?"

"Blimey brilliant, the room is so beautiful." he says in awe.

You laugh at his response, and see Emily starting at him, and your heart jumps for her.

"How about truth or dare? That'll get it going!!" she says, clapping her hands to herself.

"Emily, truth or dare?" you ask your best friend.

"Hmmm, truth."

"Is it true you sent a stink bomb off at the last Slytherin party?" you ask quickly, knowing the two boys had no idea of her devious ways.

Her face turned red and she laughs out her response, "Poppy Dove Kennedy!! I said that in confidence!!"

Blaise laughs as her, and you even catch Draco slide a smile at her, seemingly surprised at his friends Hufflepuff girlfriend.

"Poppy, is it true that YOU tripped Pansy Parkinson last week in the astronomy tower?"

"Emily, this is not how the game works!!!"

"Fine-FINE! Truth or dare?" she laughs back at you.

"Well since I know the truth, obviously I'm picking dare!!!" you yell back,

"Lame," she says with a wink. "I dare you to sit on Draco's lap, for... 3 rounds." the triumph oozing out of her voice.

You send her a look, before placing yourself on his lap, arms crossed in silent protest.

"Alright, Draco, truth or dare?" Blaise asks.

"Stupid question, Dare, obviously."

"I dare you to go to Pansy's room... and ask her how to cast the contraception charm!" Blaise says between laughs.

"And Poppy has to go with you!!!!" Emily adds on.

Blaise looks at her as if she's an angel sent to Earth, and he high fives her devilish addition to the challenge.

"Bloody hell," Draco mumbles.

He pushes you off of his lap and walks out of the room, the three of you in tow. As you all round the corner to Pansy's door, Emily and Blaise stand out of eye sight, but within ear shot of the occurrence.

Standing behind Draco, he quickly ruffles his hair, and loosens his tie before knocking on the unsuspecting victims door.

Within a second, Pansy is standing in her door, eyes trailing Draco's disheveled look.

"I've been waiting for you, Drake..." she says, trying to push her seductive propaganda.

This side of Pansy catches you off guard, and you laugh, quickly covering it with a cough.

If Pansy didn't notice you before, she surely did now.

"Oh. I didn't see the whore behind you." she says with a smirk.

"Well Pansy, that's why I'm here, what was that uhm-charm? The contraception charm? I've bloody forgotten and Blaise is out." he asks innocently, his acting skills amazing you.

A look of rage flashes across Pansy's face before she slams her door shut. Leaving you and Draco in the hall.

Loud laughter erupts behind the two of you, reminding you of Emily and Blaise's presence. Draco turns his attention backwards and a smile crosses his face, clearly enjoying the dare more than the rest of us. You put your hand up in a high five, which he quickly returns.

The four of you make your way back to their dorm, ready to continue the night. Once back on the floor, you all turn your attention to Draco.

Well, you were back on his lap, so it was rather difficult to focus on anything OTHER than Draco...

"Emily, truth or dare?" he asks her

"Uhm... truth?" she says, nervous of his request, not that you blame her.

"Have you ever kissed a girl?"

"Nope, only Blaise." she responds timidly, embarrassed of her honesty.

You knew this, Emily was like your sister, of course you knew this. But Blaise was shocked she hadn't kissed a girl whereas Draco was shocked that Blaise was the only one.

"Poppy's kissed the whole bloody school, you're really telling me she hasn't made a move yet?" Draco says with disbelief

"She has not kissed the whole school Malfoy! If you keep being foul, Hermoine won't be the only one to punch you." Emily says in defense

"Alright fine. Fine." He says; throwing his hands up.

"It's not like Poppy isn't attractive, she's rather beautiful, isn't she? It just hasn't happened." your friend remarks, looking at you nervously.

"WELL, we know what that means!" Blaise says at once

Emily looks to you, her eyelashes batting at you, her hazel eyes looking at you with trust.

You stare at your friend, your best friend. She is beautiful, and comfort, and love, and warmth.

"So erm, poppy, will you do it?"

"Only if you want Em, you know I'd do anything for you." you say with love

Emily shifts out of her seated position, rolling on her knees as she leans towards you, still on Draco's lap.

You move towards her, shifting out of his lap, smelling her familiar scent of lilac.

She stops just shy of your lips and takes a small breathe in, you grab her cheek and look into her eyes. She seemed nervous, but sure.

You pull Emily to your lips, tasting her honey chapstick. Emily takes a sharp breathe in, and kisses you back, deeply.

The two of you pull away, and you smile at her, before plopping a wet kiss on her forehead.

"Love you forever, Em," you say with a small smile.

The kiss was sweet; and maybe overdue. But you loved Emily, and you both know the kiss wouldn't change anything. She was still your best friend. A soulmate.

You're both brought back to reality at the noise of the boys whistling at the show. You turn around and punch Draco's arm playfully before saying, "you pervs!!"

"Whew. That was... pretty hot Emily," Blaise says to his girlfriend, and almost instantly his pulls her into him.

You and Draco sit there shocked as they lock face, pulled into a heavy embrace. You turn your face to look at Draco, who seems equally as shocked at the quick turn of events.

"I don't think they're slowing down," he says, "should we give them some privacy?"

You nod quickly, knowing this is exactly what Emily has been waiting for. You stand up, and grab Draco's hand; pulling him out of the room.

"Are you going to go back now?" He asks you; with an expression you can't read.

"No, I think I should wait until they're done, I don't want Emily to be caught in the halls after hours alone. Think we can hangout in the common room?"

You follow Draco to the slytherin common room, and admire the room. It's empty now; which makes sense, seeing as it's about 3am. You sit on a tufted couch and prop your feet on the table; watching as Draco grabs you both a glass of water from the kitchen. He sits next to you, and looks at you for a moment before finally speaking up.

"Poppy, I think it's time I give you that tie back."


	21. Tied Up

Draco pulls out his wand, and within seconds, my wand is in his hand.

I reach out to grab it, taking it back from him, but as my fingers graze the fabric, he pulls it back.

"tsk-tsk. Want to know the reason I've kept your tie for so long, Lovey?" he asks, a devious look crossing his face.

You bit your lip at him, unsure where this is going.

"Because you're a dick?" you ask teasingly.

"Because you're mine. Call it a little Slytherin tradition. But I have your tie, and now I have you. None of those gits can touch you. Can't even look at you. And as long as I have your tie, I have you." his words send shivers down your back as you try to decide how to feel about it.

"How many ties do you have?" you ask, curiousity more than jealousy driving you.

"Just yours. Gave Pansy's tie back after I got yours, but the whole house has Pansy's tie, so I don't think she really counts. I think she was expecting me to come back for it earlier," he says with a laugh.

"Well can I have my tie back then, Malfoy?"you ask, a new confidence coming up since his admission.

"Oh, I'll give it to you," he groans into my ear.

And we crash into each other, falling back into our ways.

Draco falls on top of me, pinning my body underneath his, and I can feel his member growing between my legs. 

I run my hand behind his neck, and play with his hair as his lips find mine.

The familiar taste of vanilla and green apple sends butterflies to my stomach.

Draco slips his tongue between my lips, and his hand finds my face, cupping may cheek lightly, but he suddenly pulls back. "I've missed you," he says

These words send a flood through you, and wetness fills your panties abruptly.

You pull him back towards you and and nibble his bottom lip. As you begin to slide your tongue in his mouth, the two of you fight for dominance, and he wins. 

You feel his hand slide down your side, before stopping on your ass, he uses this to leverage you up, so you're now straddling him. As he grabs your ass, you let your mouth find his neck, and you alternate between light bites and sucks. 

A quick groan escapes your lips as he moans from pleasure, his pleasure turning you on.

Draco pushes you on to your back, so you're now flat on the couch, his legs between yours.

"Do you trust me?"

You look up at those stormy eyes and nod at him, giving yourself up completely.

With a flick of his wand, your hands are pulled above your head, your tie now wrapped around your wrists.

Your eyes glance upward, slightly taken back by this.

"Just tell me if you want me to stop." he says, before diving back into you.

His eyes trail your body, before he rips off your sweater. You feel your core grow wet, and you try to close your thighs to bring you some relief. His firm hands stop you, and he slides his palm down between you legs.

You look down to him, kissing a trail down your body. He grows more aggressive, more sure as he grows closer and closer to your entrance. A shudder runs through your body, and he begins to slide your leggings down, quickly discarding them to the floor. 

His clothes follow suit, and you lay back and observe as he reveals his toned chest. You can feel your face flush as you long for manhood to fill you. 

Draco goes back to trailing your body, stopping at your slit. His eyes meet yours as he gently licks your folds, his nose rubbing your clit. Your eyes roll back, and you try to bring your hands down to toy his hair. You quickly realize you're stuck, the charmed tie holding you up.

The longing grows, and you begin to moan for him, begging for more. 

His tongue slides into you, and you close your thighs, keeping him as close as possible. He works his tongue against you, and you can feel your walls tighten, ecstasy coming soon.

"Draco-Draco don't stop. I'm so-"

At your words, he sits up, leaving you panting, trying to come down from your almost high.

He pulls his body against yours, and kisses your neck before gently biting a spot behind your ear.

Draco rests his forehead against yours, and you can feel his tip sliding against your lips, teasing your entrance.

You whimper, longing for him, needing him to fill you up. 

You throw your head back, making your neck accessible, hoping he'll get the hint.

He goes back to your neck, and sucks love marks across the skin, before plunging himself into you.

He's so big, larger than you remember, and the arousal is so high.

He drives himself into you, while still sucking on your neck, your hands pinned against your head, as you grow to crave his touch more and more.

You want to touch him, to grab him, to pull him in more. more and more.

He continues to ram himself into you, the moans from you both growing louder.

Your head grows light and you clench your walls, around his member. 

He grabs on to your breast and sucks it into his mouth, sending you closer and closer to an orgasm. As he starts to bite your nipple, you grow louder.

His rhythm gains speed and he's driving himself into you as if you might disappear.

"Draco!" you yell, as you finish around his member. "Finish in me, I want you," you pant as you come down from your high.

Your words send him over the edge and with a final groan and thrust, you feel his honey spill out of you, filling your up.

Draco collapses on top of you, and you pant underneath him. Still lost in the high of him.

He reaches up and unties your binds, pulling your hands down and kissing your wrists after a quick examination. 

"Might leave a mark for a few days," he says after observing his work.

And you wriggle yourself under him, hoping to get a better look at his face. 

As you level with him, you look into his eyes, they've soften since the sex, and he stares back with an unreadable expression, longing? happiness?

It floods your body with warmth and you kiss his lips.

"I've missed you too, Draco."


	22. Sacrifice

"Okay, okay. Let me get this straight. You fucked Draco in the Slytherin common room?" Emily questions, eyes wide

"Actually, Emily, I think Draco fucked HER." Ginny retorts

"Yeah he tied her up, with her own bloody tie," George says through a laugh.

It had been a few days since that night, and you promised yourself you'd be more honest with your friends, and you were determined to keep your word.

Emily, Hermoine, George, and Ginny all sat on your monstrous bed, a now permanent fixture in your dorm room.

Emily wasn't surprised by your words, she said Draco had been making rounds letting everyone know you were off limits. George and Ginny were quite giddy, loving all the dirty details of your affair. Hermoine was uncomfortable, though you weren't sure if it was because of Draco or the talk of sex.

You look around at your group, happy to have them, but missing the boys. Harry tried his best to pretend he wasn't still upset, but honestly you think he was more confused how it was Fred and not George who had your heart. Ron seemed to move on, after all Hermoine had forgiven you, and she was the smart one.

Fred on the other hand...

Fred wasn't necessarily ignoring you. But he wasn't kind. The only attention you got were glares in the hallways, and vengeful glances as he sucked face with Angelina.

Watching him with Angelina hurt a lot more in the beginning, but the physical...distractions of Draco dulled it. And as time passed, they were just another part of your life. You'd come to potions, they'd make out, and you'd bury your face in the lesson, repeat. 

Though Fred was gone, George spent more time with you lately, he was rather annoyed by the couple occupying his room, and even angrier at the cold words he'd say about you.

You had taken the 'F' charm off of your bracelet a while ago. There was no use. Fred was gone, and so were all chances of mending your relationship.

You tried to be happy for him and Angelina, you really did. She was around long before you anyway, and maybe long after.

"Poppyyyyy, is that a no?" George asks, breaking you from your thoughts.

"I'm sorry, what?" you respond, bringing your attention back to the group.

"Everyone is going to Hogsmeade tomorrow, we skip, we hangout in Gryffindor Common Room with Ginny, Harry, Ron, Hermoine, George?" Emily asks.

"And where is Fred?" you ask out loud, disappointed that you still care.

"Him and Angelina are going to Hogsmeade with Lee Jordan and Katie Bell. I think its a double date." George tells you.

"Ah okay, well as long as I'm all clear then. You don't want to bring Blaise?" you ask, now turning your attention to Emily.

"I do, but he and Draco are going to look at broom's. He wants to try his hand at Quidditch, and I think Draco is going to start training him for tryouts next year." your friend responds, and you can feel the admiration coming off of her as she talks about her boyfriend.

"Well it's settled then!" exclaims George, "see you girls tomorrow!"

And with that, George jumps up to leave, before turning to Ginny and Hermoine, who haven't moved from the bed.

"Are you two coming?" he asks

"Nope, I don't know about Hermoine, but I'm staying here... Harry's out to see the Order." Ginny mumbles, as she lays her head into a pillow.

"And Ms. Granger?"

"Ron is being insufferable since Molly won't let him join the Order, I'd rather stay here than listen to him groan about it." Hermoine says indifferently.

"Well, then I will leave you all be. I think Fred would hex me if he found out I stayed with you lot," George says sending a wink to you, before closing the door behind him.

You get up and practice your charms, conjuring some pajamas for Ginny and Hermoine. Though something goes wrong, because you've accidentally conjured up bathing suits instead. 

The girls all laugh at your attempt, before Mione gets up and corrects your form. With her help, you now have pajamas for the girls, and you and Emily quickly change yourselves.

Laying in bed, you listen to your friends talk, and gossip about what the upcoming break will be like.

You close your eyes, and your last memory is of a Red head and the stars.

_________________________

After a late morning, and begging Ponpie to bring some breakfast to your room, the four of you get dressed, before heading to Gryffindor, glad the rush of kids to Hogsmeade has passed. 

You dressed simply today, just leggings and the sweater Molly made you, a messy bun completing your look. The four of you enter Gryffindor, and notice the boys already sprawled on couches. With a quick wave, you scoot next to George, forcing him to sit up, and not claim the entire couch for himself. 

"Harry, when did you get back?" Ginny asks, as she moves to kiss the boy.

A flash of crimson covers Harry's face, but he quickly recovers before answering her. "I arrived rather late last night, maybe 1am?"

Ginny sits next to him, and Ron growls in annoyance as his sister pushes him aside. 

Harry informs you all of the Order's plans, and you do your best to listen, though not understanding much of his words.

Being a new wizard was hard.

The group continues to discuss Order tactics as you and Emily sit there awkwardly.

"oh, sorry, I'm sure this is confusing to you two. New topic!" Harry announces quickly.

You're grateful for him, and soon the conversation is revolving around a new muggle book Hermoine purchased last time she saw her parents.

The Giver.

It was a good book, you had read it. But watching Hermoine light up as she covered the plot was better than the actual story. Her face glowed as she described the dystopian society to the others, and a lively side of her began to show as she discussed something that brought her passion. 

Just as Hermoine begins to detail Jonas' escape, the entrance to the common room opens, causing you all to jump. 

Hermoine draws her wand quickly, before recognizing the intruder. You turn around and feel your heart stop.

Fred.

"Hey mate, you're back early, want to join us?" George asks his twin.

As the question comes out, Angelina steps inside the entrance as well.

Fred scans the group, trying to decide whether to accept or not. And he might have, had his eyes not noticed you.

A darkness clouds his face, "Sorry Georgie, but Angelina and I have other plans," he responds, guiding her forward with a smack on her butt.

You visibly recoil, and George grabs your hand, hoping to soothe you. As his thumb traces the back of your hand, you breathing starts to normalize.

The conversation returns, though a little strained at the tension that Fred created, and as Ron begins to tell a story about Neville during first year, a scream rips through the room.

Your eyes grow large, afraid of the danger that seems to be impending.

And then you hear it, another scream.

Then another,

and another,

and another.

Until you soon realize what it was.

Angelina.

Angelina being railed so hard she sounded like she was being murdered, to be exact.

All of you grow quiet, and your heart cracks, jealousy flowing through you, as you squeeze George's hand tighter with every yell she lets out.

"Idiot. Daft. Twat," he mumbles before casting a silencing charm, stopping the noise abruptly. 

Moments pass by, and your jealousy turns to anger as you block out the group.

How could he?

Cruel.

He does it on purpose, he hates you.

You loathe him.

Your thoughts are suddenly interrupted as a shirtless Fred walks through the common room, heading to the little kitchen.

"Don't be a prat, Fred. You know what you're doing." George says, still gripping your hand in his.

"Don't know what you're talking about dear brother, just needed some water, Angelina is quite tiring," he responds with a smirk. 

You catch Hermoine rolling her eyes, and a small smile crosses Ginnys lips, her back towards Fred.

"How ironic! Poppy was just telling us about the...work Draco has been putting into her. Right in the Slytherin common room too, is that right Poppy?" Ginny asks feigning innocence.

The Poppy from 30 minutes ago wouldn't dream of telling Fred this, but a new girl had bloomed when Fred made his feelings for you clear. And there was no stopping the dirty details from spilling out.

"Yeah, on the couch, even tied me up, was rather hot. I've been trying not to think about it all day, hopefully he comes back from Hogsmeade soon, I'm just dying to get another taste," you respond to Ginny, and you send a wink towards Fred.

Two can play at that game.

Fred stares at you indifferently, but you see the veins in his hand pop out as he tightens his grip on his water cup. 

"Oh, so he's upgraded you from passageways then?" he spits back.

Ron forces back a laugh at the comeback, and Hermoine reaches over to slap his arm.

"sorry, poppy," he mumbles.

"I'd go back upstairs soon, Fred. Might want to practice on Angelina more, can't imagine you're doing it right when the witch sounded as if she were a live human sacrifice," you respond, venom building on your tongue.

Fred looks at you with a smirk, he had won. He knew it. You knew it. 

He places his cup on the sink, and heads back upstairs. Your hand finds the dove charm and you rub it vigorously, hoping some sort of power will come of it.

As the door upstairs closes, you stand up abruptly.

"Leaving." you say to your friends, and head towards the door.

Emily stands up as well, and says a quick goodbye to them all, following you out of the common room.

"Pops, I'm going to meet Blaise to see his new broom. Meet us in the Great Hall for dinner. If you don't, I will curse you bald while you sleep." she says with conviction.

You look at your friend and nod, not wanting to push her buttons. 

Emily gives you a hug before running off to Slytherin, and you drag your body towards Hufflepuff. 

Fucking. Ginger.


	23. The Pitch

As you stomp your way back to Hufflepuff, you can feel the tears welling, and you swallow hard, hoping to push out down, contain it. 

Fred Weasley was a jerk, a righteous asshole. 

And you were going to make him regret it.

_________________________

You eventually found your way to the Common Room, and marched to your room, finally allowing the tears to spring free from their prison.

You were angry; okay and a little sad, but your tears weren't for sympathy. They were the built up tears of a witch who didn't know a damned hex yet, a witch who couldn't brew a potion for erectile dysfunction, a witch who wanted revenge so badly, but knew her magic wouldn't help her.

As the hot tears began to slide down your face, you push open your dorm door, excited to crawl into bed.

But as the door opens, your heart drops. 

Emily was there, and she brought Blaise and Draco as well.

You roll your eyes, not truly caring what they thought of your disheveled mess.

"Are you okay, Poppy?" Blaise asks, carefully tip toeing around the bomb that is you.

"Fred was just a twat is all. He's still moping like a little witch, purposely made us all listen to him and Angelina, just because he's still mad at her," says Emily rolling her eyes.

"Ho-how did you beat me to the room? I thought you were meeting him?" you ask her suspiciously.

"Poppy, that was almost an hour ago. I found them outside Slytherin and we talked there before heading back here."

An hour? Was I wandering around that long?

You let a sigh out, "well if you're all staying then, I guess I'll take a bath. Enact my revenge in private."

"Nope. No sad best friends on my watch. We're going to the quidditch pitch, Draco is going to help Blaise get used to his broom." Emily says matter of factly.

"You suck," you mutter under your breath, before grabbing a different top and heading to the bathroom to change. You wanted all semblance of Fred Weasley off of you, even if that meant Molly's gift fell victim.

You allow yourself 10 minutes in the bathroom; you wash your face, splash some cold water on your neck, and run a brush through your hair, opting to leave it down.

Once your self timer is up, you walk out of the bathroom, to see the group waiting for you.

"Huh. I rather like your hair that way," Draco says, eyeing you possessively.

You roll your eyes, still allowing your bad mood to control your emotions.

The group walks out of the Common Room, and you stay a few paces behind as you follow them to the Quidditch field. You haven't seen it yet, as the only team with real allowances this year was Slytherin. Plus you only know the basics from when you played at the Burrow.

You flinch, the memory bringing Fred to the forefront of your mind.

As the boys unravel their brooms, Emily conjures up a small blanket for the two of you, and you sit cross legged while she holds your hand.

"Poppy, Fred was a twat. You know that right?"

"Of course, I know. I'm pissed at him. I knew he was mad, but I didn't think he'd stoop so low."

"I just can't believe he did it, I never would have expected that from Fred, ever."

"Me neither... I was perfectly content with him ignoring me. Why did he need to egg me on?"

"Mmm, don't know Pops, but it's not worth the tears. I promise." she says, her thumb drawing circles on the back of your hand.

"I'll keep that in mind," you respond, as you try to choke them back.

After a few moments, you allow your attention to wander onto the boys. They're high, really high. Emily says it's only about 40 feet, but you don't believe her, and your heart pounds as you watch them race around.

Once it seems clear that Blaise can manage his new broom, they take to throwing a quaffle around, so he can practice his balance. And you notice that for a seeker; Draco is particularly well rounded in the sport. And Blaise is better than you had expected for someone who wasn't on their house team at all.

You're engulfed in the two, they look so peaceful, so... free. Like a bird who just got their wings. 

As they fly across the field, you watch Draco, wondering how you've never noticed him before. 

Truly noticed him.

His large hands gripping the broom underneath him, he looks different than you remember. His dark face lights up as he speeds around, and he bears a smile that reaches his eyes. The definition in his arms is prominent under his long sleeve shirt. And he's... laughing? A genuine laugh. A laugh that brings warmth to your chest. His movements are so fluid, so confident, and you're in awe at him. 

Completely enticed.

But the thoughts of the blonde haired boy are quickly broken as you hear some laughs in the distance.

You and Emily turn around, to see who has intruded on your moment. 

Emily nudges your side before you can make out the group in the field. 

George... Oliver... Lee... and Fucking Ginger.

Great.

Your eyes meet George's and an uncomfortable smile crosses his lips, as if he's in pain. You smile a forced grin back to your friend, before turning around. But as you turn, the Ginger winks at you, and you can't help but recoil at this.

You roll your eyes, and struggle to turn your attention back to Draco and Blaise over head, who are oblivious to the group walking towards the field.

"Do yo-" Emily starts to say, before an interruption breaks her train of thought.

"Didn't know Ferrets could fly," you hear from behind you. You know immediately whose words those are, and your body tightens as Draco glances to the ground.

"Shouldn't you be sacrificing, Johnson? Err- I meant, shagging?" Draco responds back instantly, Fred's words bouncing off of him as if they were a pebble.

You hear a small laugh from George and Emily, them both aware of how terrible that morning had gone.

Keeping your back to the Gryffindor's, you struggle to maintain composure, and Emily continues drawing circles on you, the speed growing rapid as her nerves increase as well.

"Didn't realize Ferret took you out in public now. I'm actually surprised he's not embarrassed of you hanging around him so desperately," Fred says, eyes locked on you as he spews the venomous words. 

Without a thought you're on your feet, charging towards the twin who towers over you.

You walk over to him, closing the space between you too, eyes growing wild as you fan the fire growing in your chest.

Once you're standing in front of him, mouths drop around you as a loud crack breaks through the air.

You slapped him, hard.

Your palm begins to burn from the contact. And Fred looks down at you, trying to hide his shock as he grits his teeth.

As you watch a red mark grow across his face, you feel the wind shuffle behind you, and an arm laces around your waist.

"If you so much as look at her Weasel, I will hex your arse. And I highly advise you think about that before speaking to my Poppy that way. She's just lucky she reached you before I did," Draco says with a sneer.

Your chest rises and falls rapidly, the adrenaline still forcing its way through your body. 

"Poppy, breathe," Emily whispers behind you.

"I'd like to see you try," Fred responds. 

Stupid. Oh, so, stupid.

Draco's arm drops from around you as he steps forward, going to meet Fred's threat.

Emily breathes in sharply.

And you shoot your arm out, grabbing Draco's wrist before things get too heated. 

Your fingers coil around his wrist, and you tug him back gently.

His eyes dart back towards you, and yet meet his gaze, mentally begging him not to.

Almost as if he heard, he unclenched his body, and steps back against you possessively.

"I'd rather not waste my energy hexing you, though it would be rather fun, I'd prefer to save my energy for Poppy later. She's rather... exciting in the sack." Draco responds cooly.

And with that, he turns to face you again, his hand reaching around the nape of your neck, before using it to pull your forehead to his lips.

The kiss is sweet. And warm. And your breathing begins to normalize instantly.

"Now, if you won't excuse us. The field is yours. You could use the practice." Draco says finally.

He grabs your wrist and pulls you behind him, Emily and Blaise shortly follow.

You turn your head to George and mouth a silent 'sorry,' before following the Slytherin into the night.


	24. Forbidden Forest

"I'm taking Poppy to the forest. Come or go. I don't care," Draco says as he drags you behind, anger building in his voice.

"Draco!! You can't take her to the Forbidden Forest! It's FORBIDDEN!" Emily says with a wail.

"I'm not going to bloody kill her, Diggory. Don't you think I would have killed her in the Slytherin Dungeons while she was tied up, if that's what I wanted?" he spits back at her.

"Em- It's okay. You can go back, if I don't come back call Ginny. She'll set him straight." you respond to her, curious about what is to come, your trust wavering.

Why was the forest forbidden?

"Emily, it's okay. Poppy will be safe with Draco, we've come here before plenty of times. Come on, I'll walk you back to Hufflepuff and we can wait there."

You watch as Emily raises her eyebrows to her dark skinned boyfriend.

"If you don't bring her back, I will personally see to your death myself," she says.

Emily and Blaise turn back, heading towards the castle, and you continue to follow Draco towards the wooded area, fear growing in your chest.

He's going to kill me.

Is it because I broke up the fight?

Did I over step by grabbing his wrist?

He's going to kill me.

Your heartbeat begins to pound into your ears, your thoughts clouding the air around you.

"Poppy I'm not going to kill you," he says with a light laugh. "I am not mad about the Weasel boy, he's properly beneath me."

"Huh? I didn't realize I was speaking out loud," you respond confused.

"You weren't... I'm a Legillimen. Well, kind of."

"A what?" you say, the word not even seeming real.

"It's a form of magic where you can access people's minds. My aunt Bella has been teaching me a bit to help my Occlumency."

"Ah, so like a psychic." you respond simply.

"What? No, not like those crackhead muggle scams." he says confused. "Your thoughts are rather loud, and you seem to have no barriers, it's fairly easy to penetrate you."

"So you just dig around my mind then? As you please?" you respond the distaste growing on your tongue.

"It's not as if I intend too, Kennedy. I'd much rather my mind be quiet actually. How do you think I know how horrid Angelina sounds in bed? You walked into your room and the memory was practically pouring out of you."

You think back to his insult to Fred, quickly realizing he was right. You hadn't told him, and you definitely didn't describe her sacrificial sounds to anyone else.

"Why are you telling me this?" you ask carefully, trying to keep your thoughts to yourself.

"I'm telling you so you know. So maybe now you'll keep your moans and groans about the Weasley boy a little quieter, it is rather annoying." he says definitively.

"If I didn't know better Malfoy, I'd say you were jealous," you purr at him.

"Hardly. You know, I hear your frequent thoughts about me as well. I'm pretty content with how you feel towards me. Rather surprised actually."

Your face pales, what does he know?

"I know you were checking me out on the pitch earlier, though I think that was rather obvious," he says, as if a joke had been told.

Your face contorts.

"I know you, Poppy. I know you better than you know yourself. I know that even though you have this little crush on Fred Weasel, I've barely left your mind since Hogsmeade."

You remain silent, digesting his words, was it true?

As you stare at your feet, your eyes gaze a Moly, it's white bud contrasting beautifully with its black stems.

You reach down and pluck the dainty thing, studying it between your fingers.

"I don't know what I'm doing Draco. I don't know what to do. Fred is warmth and comfort. But you're passion and desire. I'm at a loss. And this wasn't supposed to be anything. It was just supposed to be physical, but then you went around staking your claim on me, and I'm starting to realize this goes deeper than I thought," you ponder, unsurprised at your honesty, he can hear your thoughts anyway.

"You think this is easy for me Poppy? I had a splendidly vile thing going on with Pansy and whatever other girls I desired. Now I'm stuck eavesdropping on some American witches' thoughts? Pathetic." he says, disappointment flooding his voice. "But I'm a Malfoy. And we always get what we want, and I'm definitely not losing to some blood traitor."

His words send warmth to your belly and your knees nearly buckle from underneath you at the sound of his possessiveness.

Hot. Hot. Hot. Hot.

The words flash through your mind like strobe lights as you're unable to stop them.

Draco's eyes lock on to yours, and within seconds he's on you, lips crashing into your desire.

His hand reaches up to caress your jaw, and you brings yours up, resting it on top of his.

His tongue gently pries your lips open, and you let him in, wanting more.

Wanting him.

You let your hand wrap up to the nape of his neck, and you run your fingers through the hair, toying it desperately.

More. More.

Draco lets his other hand find your bottom, "jump," he whispers into your mouth.

And you do. You always would.

His arms wraps under your butt, and he holds you up, before crashing your back against a tree.

His grip is firm, needing. And his kisses grow desperate for you.

The small fire in your chest is wild, and uncontrollable.

Your tongues exploring each other, hands holding whatever they can find, lost in the moment.

Draco bites your bottom lip, and you quiver, your core growing desperate for his touch.

His lips begin to trail down your neck and you moan in delight as he starts to suck the juncture of your neck.

Your moans elevate, whispering, wanting.

He takes a step backwards, his mouth still working its magic into you.

Draco lays you down on the forest floor, and the Moly cushions you, enveloping you, the floral smell surrounding you two.

As you lay on the forest floor, you look up at his unnerving eyes.

"I'm going to show you how much you mean to me."

His dark eyes study your body, and he places a hand on your chest, slowly moving it down the front of your top, before it stops right above your pant line.

Please.

With unspoken approval, Draco slowly removes your pants, the smell of your sex heavy in the air. 

His eyes never leave yours, and you grow impatient of the game, the teasing.

As he stares up at you, his hand slides under your shirt, rubbing small patterns across your stomach with his electric fingers.

His touch sends shocks through your body and you grow wetter by the second.

You fake a small groan, hoping to speed up his pace at the sound of your desire.

He licks his lips, and brings his mouth down around your folds, planting a kiss between your legs.

Hot. Hot. Hot. Hot.

His tongue flicks upwards, tasting you, and he slowly goes to work. Kissing your core, letting fireworks explode across your body.

More.

As quickly as the thought flashes through your mind, his tongue dives into you, and he brings his finger to your ball of nerves, and he applies gentle pressure, unraveling you free.

His mouth comes up, and a thought flashes across his face, before he opens his mouth.

You're panting hard, fighting to bring yourself back down from the high.

"You're mine, Poppy. Mine. And I don't want you to forget that," he says, desire filled eyes, devilishly serious.

He pulls his wand from his back pocket and presses it on your upper thigh, "tell me if this hurts."

And with an instant you feel a burning pain across the top of your thigh, you look down to see his wand tip glowing orange and your skin starts to pucker underneath it.

A look of pain crosses your face, and he returns his mouth to your body, kissing your stomach, letting his tongue trail above your groin.

Pain. Pleasure. Yours.

The pain is dull, as he begins to burn your skin. But your pleasure grows wild at the look of desire and need he displays for you. You only want to please him.

Yours. Yours.

Moments pass and the burning sensation is gone, and you feel his soft groan against your folds again, as his tongue makes contact.

The sound of him drives you wild, and you buck yourself closer to him, giving him complete access to you, handing yourself over completely.

He drives his tongue against you, and a finger slides inside of you, rubbing your core.

As he curls his finger against your g spot, you hear his whispers against you.

Mine. Mine.

His words send you over the edge, and you find your walls crashing around his fingers, desperate for more.

He gently pushes another finger into you, and works into you while still allowing his tongue to trail circles across your clit.

A shot of adrenaline fills your body, and the high comes, as you finish against him.

The pleasure reverberates against you, and you moan as you come crashing back to earth.

He pulls away, and places one last gentle kiss on your core, before adding another to the spot on your thigh.

And you look down to your burn, the thrill of seeing his work on you.

'D.M.'

He had marked you as his own.


	25. Mine

You flutter your eyes open as the warmth kisses across your face, and you look around and slowly recognize the forest surrounding you. Suddenly you remember the events of last night, and notice a limp arm dangled across your waist.

'D.M.'

You slowly adjust yourself to a seated position, and drop the hem of your pants.

His initials were still there, though the mark didn't look fresh. The letters remained pink across your skin, but didn't hurt to touch, and you smile at yourself before laying back down.

As you lay down, you realize it's warm in the forest, suspiciously too warm for the time of year.

You let a few minutes pass by until you decide to shake Draco awake, you could tell you were growing hungry.

He mumbled at you in response, nuzzling himself further into your side, and you allow your eyes to cross at him.

Fine. I'll just walk back myself.

His eyes dart open and he quickly sits up.

"You will do no such thing. This forest is dangerous you realize? Potter and I saw a unicorn get murdered here first year." he responds as he makes his way to his feet.

He reaches a protective hand out to you, and you take it, feeling his warmth across your fingertips. He pulls you up with ease.

"How come we slept out here then?" you shoot back

"I set some wards around us after you fell asleep, a warming charm also." he responds cooly, either not noticing, or ignoring the fire in your voice.

You walk in silence back to the castle, unsure of how to decipher the previous night.

Draco guides you to the Great Hall and abruptly grabs your hand before you enter.

You shoot a look at him, what the hell is he doing?

Mine.

He forces the thought into your mind.

You lace your fingers through his, unaffected by his thoughts, but thankful for some sort of answer.

He made you feel wanted, safe.

Draco opens the door to the great hall, still holding your hand as you drag in behind him.

And while the hall isn't full, whoever is there is staring at the two of you.

You can hear the whispers around you, but struggle to make out any real words.

You keep your eyes forward, avoiding all the unwanted attention; focusing solely on Draco's hand around yours, the heat radiating off of him, the smell of apple and vanilla, his heartbeat steady.

Out of the corner of your eye, you see Emily waving aggressively at you, as her and Blaise sit at Hufflepuff's table.

You don't ask Draco, you just lead him to your friends, you just go.

He follows you quietly, sending glares to anyone who may look in your direction.

Once you reach Emily and Blaise, she throws her arms around you, pulling you out of Draco's hold.

"Oh Poppy, I was so worried!! Where have you been?" She exclaims, keeping her grasp on you tight.

"And YOU, you're just lucky I don't crucio you where you stand!" she yells at Draco.

"Em- I'm okay, we just got caught up and I fell asleep. I'm okay, I promise, I'm okay." you repeat, hoping to bring her voice down.

She breathes heavily, and you can tell she's trying to rationalize with herself.

Blaise reaches out to her, letting his touch do the talking. With another deep breathe Emily sits down; "join us," she says, and you're not sure if it's a question or demand.

You sit down across from them, and Draco speaks first.

"Why are you at Hufflepuff and not Slytherin table?"

"Emily was worried, I couldn't leave her alone. And Slytherin isn't exactly kind to... guests," Blaise responds knowingly.

Draco considers this for a moment then shrugs, you all knew Blaise was right.

"And what exactly did you two get up to?"ponders Emily

"Just had to show Poppy where her priorities should lie, is all," Draco responds nonchalantly.

Emily shoots you a pointed look, and the right side of your lips tug up before you mouth her a silent, 'later.'

Not that it mattered, Draco knew all your thoughts anyway.

You poke around at a plate of fruit, dragging a strawberry back and forth, as you try to work out all your feelings.

What were you and Draco?

What did last night even mean?

Were you a...thing? Or was this just an elevated version of your tie?

And did you still care for Fred?

How would you manage Easter at the Burrow?

"Easter at the Burrow? When were you going to tell me?" Draco whispers at you, breaking your thoughts.

"Uhm, I wasn't? Not unless you asked." you whisper back at him.

You cross your arms across your chest and turn back to Emily. 

"So, what are our plans, Em? Bubble baths and bribing Ponpie? Unless you needed to finish some assignments before tomorrow?" you ask her, ignoring Draco, ending your conversation with him.

"Great minds think alike," she says with a wink. 

Emily gets up from the table and plants a kiss on Blaise's forehead, before turning her attention back to you, "It's not too early for wine right?"

____________________________

After having Ponpie bring you a bottle of wine out of the kitchens, the two of you sneak into your room, careful not to let Ernie or Hannah see you. Ernie wasn't a strict Prefect, at least not when it came to Emily since he was friends with Cedric, but Hannah was. She took her job rather seriously, and you couldn't risk your girls day going to shreds.

Once the bottle was successfully snuck into your room, Emily preformed an enchantment on the bottle so it would constantly refill, allowing you two to get properly hammered.

Emily then made her way to the bathroom, and cast an enlargement charm on the tub, allowing it to stretch in size, fitting you two comfortably. 

You conjured up some essential oils, along with some fluffy gold bathrobes. As Emily was letting the water run, you added some Bergamot to the bathtub, hoping it's calming properties would kick in soon.

Emily stripped and practically threw herself into the bathtub, letting out a sigh as the water engulfs her.

You begin to undress, amazed at how quickly she managed to jump in. Once you've discarded your clothes you walk towards the tub and place a foot in, letting the hot water soothe your soul.

"Poppy what the fuck is that!" Emily properly screams, and it startles you enough to jump.

"What the hell, Emily? What?" you mutter back, still thrown from her sudden bout.

"What is that? That mark? 'D.M.?"

Oh. 

"It's nothing Emily, uhm, it's just- uhm? Draco?" you stutter, trying to figure out how to explain this to your innocent friend.

"He HURT you?" she demands, sliding out of the bathtub towards you.

You continue your descent into the tub, trying to decide the best approach.

"Emily- Come on, I'll explain."

Her brown eyes flutter back at you, and she looks shaken to her core, visibly wounded.

"Well, uhm, Draco and I had sex... and this was just, a sex thing? I don't know, it didn't hurt, he made sure it wouldn't hurt. I promise. We just talked and got some feelings out in the air, and it was just all hard to contain. You'd be the first person to know if I weren't okay, you know that."

"So he marked you? Like a bumper sticker? You're not his property, Poppy."

"I know, and I don't know what to make of our relationship, I'm so confused. But he makes me feel wanted, and desired, and his possessiveness makes me feel... safe? He'd never intentionally hurt me, I know that... Am I making sense?"

"Honestly no. I don't get it. I mean, I get the parts about how you feel. But never in my life would I let someone carve into my skin like that."

"And that's okay, Emily. Your relationship with Blaise is different from mine and Draco's, I'm not asking you to accept everything, just to be understanding."

Emily considers your words for a moment, and sighs, sinking further into the tub.

"I get it, I get it. Fine. But I'll need more wine," she mumbles through a gulp of white wine.

You stare at her and suddenly feel bad for the stress you've brought her these past 24 hours, and you slide towards her.

Your leg brushes hers in the bath and you slip a hand over her cheek. 

"Emily, I'm sorry for being such a trash friend. I love you and won't let you worry again. Okay?"

You can tell she's conflicted, but she nods her head, before kissing your forehead.

You smile a shy smile at her and lay back against the tub, taking your own sip of wine, and letting the water relax you again. 

Hours pass by as you and Emily lay in the tub, just enjoying each others company. 

As you discuss Emily's upcoming trip to China over the break, a knock appears at the door.

Why.

"I swear to Helga, if it's Ernie come to ask why Umbridge took house points from me last week I am going to scream," she mutters under her breathe.

Emily quickly casts a charm to hide the wine bottle and glasses, and you cast another to refresh the bubbles in the bath. You're not sure who's coming, and Ernie Macmillan surely doesn't need to see you and Emily indecent. Once Emily deems that no one can see anything they shouldn't, she yells to the door.

"COME IN! Bathroom!!" she says in a sing song voice, all trace of annoyance gone.

You close your eyes, and lean your head against the bathtub, head towards the ceiling.

The bathroom door opens and you can feel the air shift.

"Ah hello George, was afraid you were Ernie," Emily responds, and your wine glass reappears between your fingers instantly. 

You open your eyes and bring the glass to your mouth, letting the golden liquid trail your insides, before turning to George at the door.

"Want to join? We can always make it a little larger if you're uncomfortable?" you ask him, assessing how awkward he appears.

"How about room for four?" another voice piques behind George.

The unknown voice slides themselves into the bathroom as you begin to make them out.

Fred.

"George, what the hell!!" you stammer at him.

"I know Pops, I'm sorry, but he's been asking since last night, and I didn't know what else to do." he mutters towards the ground.

"Asking what?" Emily says, intervening in the conversation

"Asking if you'll forgive me." Fred says sheepishly

Forgive?

Your eyes dart to George as you try to decipher some coded message, and when that doesn't work you look to Emily.

Emily looks as stunned as you do, and her eyebrows won't stop furrowing towards Fred. The two of you are in shock, and she quickly mumbles something then waves her hand, and your glass is replaced with a tumbler of fire whiskey.

She looks at you, and you both shoot back the drink, letting it burn like hot honey down your esophagus. She quickly mumbles again, and your glasses are filled once more.

Fred is here.

Shoot the whiskey. Glasses refills.

Fred wants to apologize?

Shoot the whiskey. Glasses refills.

I'm in the bath??

Your glass refills yet again when Emily speaks up.

"I can do this all day Poppy, but maybe slow down until he actually opens his mouth."

You nod, she was right. If this conversation were to go anything like the past few weeks then you needed your wits about you, you could always drink later.

"You have 2 minutes. No more. No less." you spat at him, anger beginning to rise in your chest.

"Poppy I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said those things I said about you. I was upset when I saw you with Malfoy, and it's not like you didn't have a right to be. But I was jealous, and I thought we had a good thing going. And seeing you with him just... I don't know. I wasn't honest with how I felt about you, and I should have told you how much you meant to me, Ginny was right, she said you wouldn't have known unless I said something and I didn't. So I just reacted, and I shouldn't have. And I shouldn't have added dittany to your potion before you turned it in, that's why you failed Snape's assignment. I just let my anger get the best of me, and I didn't know if I was angry with you or me. And after yesterday afternoon George and Ginny and even Ron ripped me a new one, and that's when I realized how rubbish I've been. Especially if Ron said something. But then after the Quidditch pitch I just got so upset and I don't know, I'm sorry Poppy. Can you forgive me?" he says, the words spilling out like word vomit as he trips over his apology.

You stare at him, trying to read his face, trying to gauge if he actually meant it.

His head drops to the floor quickly as you meet his eyes.

You roll yours in response.

"Hmmph, I guess I forgive you for the things you said about me Fred. But that's it. I'm not your friend, you've made that clear. And I'm not your, whatever we were, you made that clear as well. If you want to be friends eventually, then maybe, but that's work you need to do. Not me." you say clearly. Flicking your hand towards him, as if dismissing his presence. 

"Thanks Dovey..." he murmurs, his face red, and contorted as if he may throw up.

"George, the offer for you to stay still stands. We have wine, and fire whiskey now. Would you like a glass?" Emily offers him

"No thanks, Em. I'll see Fred back to Gryffindor. But maybe the three of us hangout sometime this week? I've got some fun Oli news." he says with a wink.

"Can't wait," you respond, smiling at your favorite twin.

George and Fred leave the room, leaving you and Emily the peace you so desperately craved. 

"Fucking ginger," she mutters through closed eyes.

And you smile at yourself, knowing that Emily were your soulmate.


	26. Friendly

Monday comes abruptly, you're dreading the upcoming week, and dreading it more once you realize Easter break is finally here. Luckily you'll have Ginny to keep you company, and sweet George. You weren't sure if Harry would be there or not, he was growing more involved with the Order, which meant Ron was fighting to be included as well. Hermoine said she'd come for part of the break, but needed to see her parent's first.

As you sit at the Hufflepuff table with Emily, you shove a buttered piece of toast in your mouth, almost moaning at the rich taste.

As you go for another bite, the bench shifts underneath you, and you look over to see Draco staring at you, his eyes fire.

"Uhm, can I help you? I'm rather enticed with my toast at the moment," you respond.

"Why were you with Weasel last night? And why were you naked when you did it?" he demands, almost spitting at you.

Emily raises an eyebrow at him, "Malfoy, how about you shut the fuck up? If you speak to her like that again, my threats won't be empty anymore."

Draco whips his head at him, and you notice Blaise next to her, who is stifling a laugh at the expense of his friend.

"Sorry, Diggory.." he mutters before turning back to you.

"Emily and I were having a lovely bath yesterday when George came over, we let him in and Fred tagged along behind him. Apologized to me. That's all." 

"And? Did you forgive him? Did he see you?" he asks, the possession growing in his tone 

"Yes I forgave him. But we're not friends until he makes an effort to do so. And I highly doubt he saw anything, he definitely didn't see the little love mark you left." you say, trying to remain level.

Blaise laughs again, louder, apparently knowing about your newly carved initials.

"Wish he did." Draco says bitterly.

You realize you're being harsh. Maybe you were hungry. Maybe confused by yesterday. Probably both.

You grab his hand and squeeze it, trying to help him calm down. You look up at him to see him staring at Gryffindor table, looking as if he might kill Fred at any moment.

You take a deep breathe and try to let your internal confusion not cloud how you are with him. You did care for Draco. And it wasn't his fault that you couldn't make up your mind.

You reach your hand up and bring it to his jaw, rubbing his cheek with your thumb. He eventually focuses back on you and you take in his face, studying every detail. His eyes meet yours and the heat in your stomach dies down, before you pull him down for a kiss.

His lips meet yours and you gently pry them open with your tongue. You run it against his twice before breaking apart.

Yours.

His body visibly relaxes, and he grabs your hand again, holding it while you finish your toast.

"Is that all it takes? A little hand holding and a kiss? That's all I have to do when you're on a rampage?" Blaise asks Draco jokingly.

You and Emily laugh at him, while Draco growls a response.

_________________________

You're anxious as you walk towards Potions, not entirely trusting of Fred's apology yesterday. As you sit down at the table you share with George, you pull out your textbook and some parchment, prepping for Snape's lesson.

As you rummage around your bag looking for a quill, the chair next to you moves.

"Hello Georgie," you say to him.

"Freddie, actually." Fred responds 

"Oh. Are you sitting here today? You're welcome to if you want, just unexpected." you respond, still digging around.

"No, I just wanted to see how you were before class starts.."

"I'm fine, just looking for this damned quill," you respond exacerbated. 

"That's good. I'm glad. Will you still come home this week?"

"Yes, I will still go to the Burrow if that's okay with you. If not, I'll just stay here." 

"No, Poppy. I'd like you to come. Mum says she misses you." he says quietly

"Okay, then, uhm, same plan as last time? Or should I meet you all at Hogsmeade at the train this time?"

"We'll meet in Hogsmeade, I have some errands to run before we leave, and I think George will be rather busy handling Ginny and Ron." he says.

"That's fine. Hogsmeade it is." you respond, your voice void of emotion.

"Uhm, I should go Poppy. Angelina will probably be here soon..." he says awkwardly as he stands up.

Fred gets up and moves to his usual seat, as Angelina walks in to greet him. She walks up to his back and places her arms on his shoulders and kisses the back of his head.

You roll your eyes and finally find your missing quill.

Snape storms into the room, announcing page numbers, threatening detention for anyone who doesn't have their book open by the time he hits the front of the room. 

George still isn't there, was he sick?

You open your book to the proper page and begin taking notes as Snape lectures on the properties of a potion to induce euphoria.

shrivel fig. porcupine quills. peppermint..

The door suddenly crashes open and you turn your attention to see a disheveled George rushing to his seat. His hair is wild, and his top button is undone, along with some inside out robes.

You laugh at him, knowing exactly what he was up to, or WHO he was up to.

As you trail George across the room, your eyes catch Fred's and he laughs at his twin as well. A smile flashes across your face, you missed their interactions, the balance they brought each other.

No. You were not smiling at Fred. No. 

You quickly turn back to your table and adjust your thoughts, ripping Fred from your mind. 

George hastily sits down, but not before avoiding detention with Snape. He's to collect Mandrake in the Forbidden Forest, at least 10 by this week. 

You quickly open his book and show him the section you're on, waiting until Snape is thoroughly distracted by the lesson again.

"Hmmm, Oliver.. finally sneak his wood?" you whisper, fighting back a giggle.

"Oh shut it, Poppy," he responds, an embarrassed smile crossing his face.

"Manage to talk to Fred today? He keeps looking over here, wanker." he says after a moment.

"Yes, he came by before Angelina showed up," you respond rolling your eyes, "the sneaking around can't be good on their relationship."

"No relationship, apparently he ended things yesterday." George responds, "Bet you 20 galleons it had to do with her screaming," he says with a laugh.

You giggle back and shudder at their atrocious noises you were all subject to. 

"They seem friendly for exes?"

"Mmm, think Angelina reckons they'll get back together. They've been on and off since the Yule Ball last year."

"I hope she's right," you whisper back.

God, I hope she's right.


	27. Easter Train

The week went by quickly. Between sneaking off with Draco between classes, and long library dates with Hermoine, you hadn't realized it were Friday, until Fred walked up to you after class to remind you of the travel plans.

Draco wasn't happy with you and Fred talking, you could tell. But until he had decided the status of your relationship, you were learning from past mistakes. 

You were your own. And no one was going to stop you. Not a Malfoy, Not a Weasley. 

He walked with you to the train station after classes, arm wrapped protectively around your shoulder the whole time. He was staying at Hogwarts for break with Blaise, but he said he wanted to make sure you got there alright. Despite your thoughts that he may have ulterior motives. 

Once at the station, you spotted George, Ginny, Ron, and Harry. The group waved at you, and Draco walked you over to them. As you reached the group, Draco set down your bag, and gave you a firm kiss before turning back without a word.

He still wasn't even remotely kind to Harry or Ron, though their fake gags as he kissed you didn't help.

Once he was out of sight you spoke, "I swear to god you two. I'm struggling as it is!!"

"Want Harry to hex him? Or Ginny?" Ron offered

"No hexing anyone, though it would make my life infinitely easier," you mutter.

"Want to talk on the train?" Ginny whispers, and you quickly nod at her, desperate for her advice.

Once an empty compartment had been found, the 5 of you shuffle in, still 20 minutes until the train is due to leave. 

Fred hadn't showed yet, and this seemed like the best time to talk to George and Ginny.

"Hey Ron, will you go grab us some food? I'm starved..." you say, handing him a handle of coons, not even bothering to count it. 

"Ah yes, Harry go to," Ginny says.

"Ron can manage it by himself, right Ron?" Harry asks his friend.

"Harry James Potter, now" Ginny scolds her boyfriend, pointing to the door. 

A confused look spreads across Harry's face, but he eventually leaves with Ron to the food car, and you quickly spill your guts to Ginny and George.

You let out a deep sigh, and lay your head back against the seat. As you focused on talking, not thinking, so Draco wouldn't hear you, you could feel the nerves build in your chest.

"Okay. So Fred is a twat. We all know. But then he apologized to me. And so Draco is getting jealous. Even though I'm not his girlfriend. And Fred is being nice to me again. And he's not dating Angelina. And now I'm spending 2 weeks with him. And I don't even think I like Fred, but then I caught myself smiling at him. And I was just getting comfortable with everything. And now it's changed again. And I can't breathe." you sputter out nervously

"Have you considered being completely gay?" Ginny asks through a laugh.

"Ginny!! Help!" you push out, feeling defeated.

"Pros and Cons list? That could help," George says. "I'll grab some parchment."

The twin pulls out a piece of parchment and a quill, and makes a list. 

Draco: Pro / Con

Fred: Pro / Con

"Okay, uhm, pros for Draco, sex, passion, eyes, possessive" you respond, "cons... controlling, it was cute at first but now it's becoming almost obsessive. mean to my friends, legilimency."

"Draco's a legilimen???" Ginny sputters out immediately.

"Well, kind of, shhh, it's- just forget it." you say, pushing the thoughts aside so he doesn't hear you.

"Okay, and Fred?" George says

"Fred. Pros, sweet, gentle, fun to hangout with, safe. Cons, haven't had sex, could be terrible? ....Keep it there either way. Asshat. Safe, he's not necessarily exciting like Draco you know?"

"Okay, okay, so now we have a list. Who do you choose?" Ginny asks

You look over the list and study it, hoping the page will just answer for you. 

"I- I don't know. This is harder than I thought."

Maybe this break will give you answers, you thought. Maybe it will make it worse? You felt a sense of guilt rush over you, as you thought of all the time you'd spend with Fred. But you quickly shove it away. Draco knew of this trip, if he actually wanted you as much as he acts, he'd have committed to you by now, right? It's not like you had told him not to, he knew you would. Maybe that's why? Maybe he knew he didn't need too, he owned you anyway. At least he acted like he did.

But Fred had spent weeks being terrible to you, all the tears were a sign of that. All the sleepless nights, and the terrible emotions he brought out.

"Well, you don't need to always have an answer, Pop. They've both made it rather difficult for you.. maybe you should let them do all the work. Stop stressing yourself over them. Neither of them have shown they deserve it yet." George says, and he squeezes your hand before offering a gentle smile.

You sigh, sending a smile back at him, before turning to Ginny. 

"I don't know what I'd do without you two. I love Emily, but she's been kind of sketchy since she saw the mark."

"The mark?" Ginny asks, her interest piqued.

You stand to your feet, and pull down the waistband of your skirt, showing the still pink initials burned into your skin.

George lets out a small gasp and reaches his hand out, the slender fingers tracing the spot.

"Kinky," Ginny responds, seeming rather impressed with you.

Your face turns red and you watch George still trace the spot, studying the skin.

"Why are we touching Poppy?" a voice asks.

George quickly pulls his hand back, and you pull the waistband back up before turning to face the door, as Ginny quickly crumbles the parchment, shoving it in her robe pocket.

Ron stands at the door holding some sandwiches, Harry behind him with chips, and Fred now on the train with his bags in tow.

The three of them let themselves in to the compartment, and you sit back down next to Ginny, Harry claiming her other side. Across from you is Fred, and George is squashed between him and Ron. 

Ron and Harry start to hand out the dinner of sandwiches and chips, and you quickly tear it open before taking a bite. 

Mmmmm, you were starved, and the sandwich was just what you needed.

"What'd you get in Hogsmeade?" Harry asks Fred suddenly.

You turn your attention away from your sandwich and try to focus on the group.

"Had to get supplies for some new inventions, I assume everyone made it here alright ?" Fred responds, through a mouthful of chips.

"Besides Draco sucking Poppy's face at the station," Ron responded begrudgingly.

You roll your eyes, a smile betraying you instead. 

"Shut it Ronald, it was one kiss," you say a laugh beginning to rise in your throat.

You look up to see Fred's face red, he looked uncomfortable, tightly wound up at Ron's statement. You'd almost feel bad if it weren't for Ginny and George reminding you to focus on yourself. 

George must have sensed the tension, because he quickly dove in to a story about a prank they pulled in Transfigurations last week. Apparently they set some fairy cocoons in McGonnegal's classroom over night, and by the time classes had started the next day, they had all emerged as Fairies, and wrecked havoc across the room. It took McGonnegal hours to get them all under control, she even had to call Filch to help.

George was doubled over in laughter and you smiled at him, loving the way his face lit up when he was happy. 

You eyes betrayed you as you look to his twin, who's now laughing as well. His smile was different from George's, it didn't hit his eyes, instead looking like he had been told an inside joke, but the light that came to his face was warm. Whereas George turned red as he laughed, Fred turned golden. 

The group continued talking as the train drove on, hours had passed but you finally reached Kings Cross.

Molly wouldn't be coming, you were told, you all had to take the Floo from Diagon Alley to the Burrow.

As you reach up to grab your trunk from the top, a hand reaches over you, and grabs it, bringing it down for you.

"Thanks Fred," you mumble at the ground, before walking out of the compartment and towards the station, trying to distance yourself. 

Once on the platform, you wait for the rest of the party to join you. You discard your robes and shove them in your trunk, the March air being warm enough.

Ginny comes shortly after you, but the two of you are stuck waiting for the boys doing god knows what.

Finally all the boys are on the platform, and you drag your trunk behind you, as you follow George to Diagon Alley. 

Struggling to keep up with his long legs, you find yourself practically sprinting, needing a breathe you stop for a minute, letting you catch your breathe.

Someone ahead stops as you do, and you look to see Fred, staring at you. The tall twin walks back towards you, and just waits as oxygen finds its way back in to your lungs.

"Need me to carry your trunk, Dovey?" he asks, that familiar nickname cracking the ice over your heart.

"Nope. I'm fine. Just need a minute."

"Of course," he says and reaches his hand out to yours. You think he's going to hold it, as he grows closer and closer. His hand grazes yours, tracing your skin as he gently unclenches your fist.

He surprises you, his nimble fingers grazing yours, a bolt of electricity with every trace on your skin. Suddenly you feel something cold in your hand, as he closes your first. His brown eyes meeting yours for a moment, before he turns away.

You open your hand to identify the cold feeling, and see an object.

A charm.

An 'F' charm; and you'd think it were your Christmas gift, except for a tiny difference.

A single Gryffindor red jewel placed on it's center.

Fred had given you a gift.


	28. The Pond

You spent the first few days at the Burrow hovering around Molly. She let you hangout with her in the kitchen, as she told you stories about raising the kids, and her early days of dating Arthur. You missed your mom, and spending time with Molly helped fill a bit of that void. She was a lively woman, and her love was contagious; as if you needed more love to spare. You could tell Molly loved her family, but was rather lonely as they all became their own people.

The days of cooking with Molly were relaxing, she showed you how to spatchcock a hen, and use your wand to continue cooking while you did something else. You were amazed at how quickly your wand skills were improving with Molly as a teacher. She was patient with you, and took alternate approaches when something wasn't working.

One day, the two of you sat at the dining table as she taught you how to knit, it could be done with magic she explained, but the physical act of knitting helped distract and relax her, so she preferred to do it like a muggle. You watched her hands move nimbly as she contorted the yarn into a shape. As you struggled to mimic her movements, you got stuck in the yarn for the 6th time that afternoon. Her laugh was genuine, and she cast a quick charm to untangle you from the mess.

"Keep trying, my dear, I'm going to go feed the chickens. I'll be back soon," she said, as she moved towards the door.

You began to gather more yarn, forming a slipknot before trying the more intricate parts next. You became knotted once again, the yarn somehow tangled around your arms, and a bewildered expression crossed your face as you try to understand how that could have even happened.

"Need help?"

You look up to see Fred standing in the doorway, he was shirtless with dirty jeans on.

"Uhm, sure, Molly has been the one untangling me, but she stepped out to feed the chickens."

"Ah yes, Mum actually sent me in here, figured you'd need help by now," he says with a full laugh.

"Well... thank you. What were you up to?" you ask, eyeing his body as you searched for an answer.

"Dad asked if I could pull some weeds for Mum, apparently they've been overrunning her garden," he replies.

Things still weren't normal with Fred, not really even right. You hadn't spoken but a few words to him since he gave you the charm, which now sat on Ginny's dresser in your shared room. Plus you had spent all of your time with Molly lately, so you hadn't run in to him in a while.

Fred walked over to you and began untangling the yarn from around your arms before you let out a cough.

"Erm, Molly has just been using a charm to untangle me. That might be quicker."

"Ah, okay," he says as he furrows his brow, trying to think up the right spell.

Before he manages any real help, Molly steps back in and quickly applies an unrecognizable charm, and the yarn and needles all disappear from the table.

You look up at her, a confused look on your face.

"The rest of the kids are going to swim in the pond, go upstairs and get dressed to join them," she says with authority.

You stand up and move up the stairs, and Fred bounds up after you, neither wanting to see what Molly would do if you didn't listen. You reach the landing that Ginny's room is on, and knock at the door. 

"Come in!" Ginny responds.

You walk in as she finishes pulling on a pair of shorts over her bikini bottoms.

"Good! You're swimming too! I'm growing rather tired of only seeing the boys," she says with a smile.

You smile back at the girl before moving to your trunk, grabbing your own bikini. The suit was your favorite, and didn't see much action since you had moved to England. It was a white crochet style bikini, with a triangle style top and cheeky bottoms.

You quickly pulled it on and did some double braids, before inspecting yourself in the mirror.

'D.M.'

"Erm, Poppy, you may want to change suits to cover that, unless you want to explain to Harry why his worst enemies initials are burned in to you..." she says lightly, trying to decide if she had overstepped her boundaries.

You sigh in exasperation.

"I was just thinking that," you respond before applying a lengthening charm to your bottoms. The cheeky bottoms changed into boy shorts, your new mark carefully hidden.

"Is this better?" you turn to ask her.

Ginny's eyes trail you a few times before nodding in approval.

You grab two towels for you both, and bound down the stairs following after the orange haired girl.

The two of you raced to the pond once you stepped outside, and you throw the towels on the ground before jumping into the pond.

The cool water kissed your skin, and you pull yourself to the surface just in time to watch Ginny jump in as well.

Easy laughter surrounds you, as you enjoy the missing company of your friend.

As you tread around the pool, you soon notice the boys heading out of the Burrow to join.

Ron runs to the pond and cannonballs himself in; splashing you and Ginny in the process.

"You git!" Ginny yells before climbing on top of Ron, pushing him under the water.

You laugh at them as you turn your attention to Harry, splashing him as he stands outside of the pond.

"Oi, it's cold!!" He yells at you, causing you to laugh harder at his reaction.

Harry quickly takes his glasses off and sets them down, before taking a deep breathe and jumping in next to you.

He audibly shivers before Ginny swims up behind him, and climbs on to his back.

You turn your attention to the twins, who are conjuring some pool floaties to use.

A giant tube comes hurtling at you, and you narrowly miss it, managing to knock in to Ron in the process.

After a few more tubes are added to the pond, you climb into one and let the warm sun kiss your skin. The twins now in the pond, George moves over to you, and hangs on to the side of the float as you detail your morning with Molly.

"I know you love Mum, but please hang out with me more. I can't handle Fred and Ron bickering. And Ginny and Harry won't stop snogging!" He says desperately

"Anything for you Georgie," you respond with a sweet smile.

"How about we play chicken?" Ron suddenly suggests to the group.

Everyone quickly agrees and begins partnering up.

Harry and Ginny claim each other immediately.

As do you and George.

Leaving Fred and Ron together.

They're both obviously annoyed at this pairing, but the rest of you laugh at their misfortune.

It's decided that everyone will just go at the same time, and the last team standing wins.

George sinks himself under water and you climb over his shoulders, and once he resurfaces he hooks his arms around your calves.

Harry and Ginny follow a similar pattern, though you notice they're significantly lower than you and George are.

It does help having a 6 foot man for a partner.

After a few minutes of Ron and Fred arguing about who would be on top, Ron begrudgingly gets on Fred's shoulders. Fred was taller, so it really did make the most sense. But Ron argued that he didn't want to have to push around girls.

Lucky for Ron, you spoke up before Ginny could.

"How considerate of you Ron, but I would rather let George waterboard me than lose to you."

"What is waterboarding?" Fred asks from under Ron.

"Waterboarding is a form of torture, it's basically dry drowning someone. America uses it at Guantanamo Bay." you say matter of factly.

The group looks appalled, and you can't help but laugh at their twisted faces.

"I suddenly think I'm more afraid of you than Ginny," Ron responds after a moment.

"As you should be," George says to Ron with a smirk.

The group of you begin your game, with Harry and Ginny being knocked out fairly quickly. Ginny was ruthless, but they had a disadvantage with Harry's height, he kept getting water in his mouth, and Ron took a shot when he was choking. 

As Ron and Fred readjust themselves, George throws you both forward, and you're completely thrown off guard by his sudden advance. You maintain keeping your balance, and push your arms forward at Ron. 

Ron must have known he was going down, because he grabbed tight on your wrists and dragged you down with him. 

George had let go of your legs in the process, and you fell on top of Ron and Fred, the three of you going underwater. 

As you all circle back to the surface, you choke up the water that had entered your nose, coughing profusely in the process. 

You look over to see George dry from the chest up, a large grin on his face, "So did I win?"

You roll your eyes at him and swim to the side of the pond, pulling yourself out of the water.

"I guess George has to waterboard Poppy now," Fred says with a smirk.

You laugh at his joke as you throw your body on to the ground. The grass was fluffy, and green, and you were too lazy to grab your towel. 

You watch the others in the pond, and soon George accompanies you on the grass, bringing a towel for you both to sit on. You lift your butt and sit on the dry towel, thankful that your coughing has subsided. 

As you sit there watching the group, George leans over to whisper in your ear, "your mark, Poppy."

You turn to face him, a muddled look on your face as you try to understand what he's referring too. 

Without saying a word, his left hand grabs the hem of your bathing suit and pulls it down an inch, safely concealing your secret.

You smile at him, thankful for him, thankful that you didn't need to explain yourself to anyone else.

He goes to hold your hand, and he begins telling you his past few weeks with Oliver. Apparently they had grown quite close, having study dates twice a week in the library, and sneaking around between classes. They hadn't had sex yet, but George was in the middle of telling you about a freckle Oliver has on his butt before an interruption occurred.

"You're seriously trying to tell me that Fred likes her and George doesn't?" Ron says from the middle of the pond, he's look at Harry as he says it, and he thinks he must have been quiet, because a look of shock crosses him as Ginny slaps his arm.

You and George laugh at Ron's outburst, and Ginny's reaction. Harry looks equally bewildered as Ron, as he's been trying to understand the special relationship you have with George himself. But you soon notice Fred's face is crimson, his eyes wide as if he'd just been struck by a bus. He forces a laugh before plunging himself under the water.

"Ron you bloody idiot!" George yells next to you, and Rons face turns a similar shade of red. 

You realize you're missing something as everyone around you turns awkward, what had happened?

"..Fred likes her.."

You quickly turn to face George, and you can feel the wild look on your face.

"George, he does not like me. He. Does. Not." you say to your friend, as if trying to make the words real.

"Poppy, Ron is a bloody idiot. He wasn't supposed to tell you. Fred has been moping about you every night. Groaning us all to sleep since we've got here. I didn't want you to know because, well, it'd be unfair to you and Fred. He really should say something, not me. Especially not Ron," George whispers back to you, keeping conversation low between you both. 

"He hasn't spoken to me since the train, when he gave me the charm. Well, I guess this morning when Molly sent him to help me."

"I think he's been trying to work up the courage, he noticed a few weeks ago that you had taken the F off of the bracelet, went to Hogsmeade and bought you a new one on Friday. I think it was his attempt at mending things?" 

"It's a lovely charm, but I'm not going to let him buy my affections back. If he wants to talk he needs to be a man about it," you hiss back at George.

"Well.. he is the dumb twin."


	29. Memories

You decide to spend more time with your friends, not realizing until today just how much you had missed them. After the pond, the group decided to sneak out to the field after Molly and Arthur went to bed to play a game of hide and seek. 

Once the Weasley parents had spent a ridiculous amount of time yawning and rubbing their eyes, they finally called it a night, passing around hugs before climbing the stairs to their room.

Their bedroom door acted as a buzzer, because once the latch clicked, everyone was off. You and Ginny tumbled up the stairs as graciously as possible, while the boys resembled a stampede.

You threw the door closed, stripping off the damp bathing suits, both deciding to wear all black, hoping it would help you remain unseen. As Ginny throws on some leggings and a black hoodie, you opt for some oversized sweats and a cropped tank. Before running outside you decide to throw your hair in a messy bun, it still unruly from the pond.

Ginny and you sneak down the fire whiskey that Blaise had left in your room a few weeks back, and met the boys out by the shed. You laughed as they all join you two, slowly realizing that everyone had come to the same conclusion of wearing black.

"The game is simple," Harry begins. "I will spin my wand on the ground, and whoever it points to is it. That person must wait by the shed for 3 minutes, allowing the rest of us to hide. When the time is done, we must all try and make our way back to the shed, whoever is caught is it."

"What if no one's caught?" George asks

"Then the seeker has to take a shot, and we spin the wand again," he replies.

The terms sounded easy enough. 

Everyone took a quick pull from the fire whisky bottle and Harry set his wand down, while everyone circled around it. With a quick twist of his wrist, the group watched as the wand slowed, picking its unlucky victim. 

Ron.

Ron groaned as he realized he was to count first, and the rest of you quickly bolted into the field, shooting in opposite directions. A small flare would shoot into the sky when the time was up, and you quickly took to looking for the best spot.

After a few laps around the Burrow, you finally found a tree, and start to climb it before a voice in the dark stops you.

"Uh uh, Pops. Spot is claimed." George whispers from above you and you turn abruptly looking for a new location.

The chicken coop.

You sprint towards the coop and throw the door open, ready to claim victory. But two bodies pressed against each other soon stops you.

Ginny and Harry. Ginny and Harry making out.

You stifle a giggle and shut the door, whispering an apology before turning around. As you turn away from the coop, you see a red flare shooting off, and you know your time is up.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Your eyes pan around the area before spotting Arthur's old car parked underneath a tree, a blue tarp covering it. You knew the boys were all afraid to go near it after Molly nearly killed them a few summer's ago over it. 

Victory was so close.

You quickly ran to the car, and quietly moved the tarp, before casting 'alohomora' and throwing your body into the back seat. As your body hits the floor, you realize your fall was softer than expected, completely dumbfounded until you hear a small whimper underneath you.

Fred.

"Fredrick Weasley, this is my spot!!!" you whisper through gritted teeth.

"Actually Poppy, this is MY spot, though I am willing to share." he responds, and you can feel the heat radiating off of him.

Just as you're about to leave, you hear the grass rustling a few yards away. And both of you fall silent, waiting for the person to pass.

You lay there, suddenly aware of how you're still laid on top of Fred, and you face flushes, quickly trying to readjust yourself.

"If you sit up you'll get us caught, I'll turn on my side so you don't have to lay on top of me," he says quietly, and you can feel the car shift under him.

Laying down next to Fred; you realize how awkward this is, how close you are to him after spending weeks apart. How his hairs like peppermint and fireworks...

What is wrong with me?

You take a deep sigh and try to focus your attention on other things, and begin to count the tiny stains on the carpet.

"Poppy, I am sorry," he says, his eyelashes fluttering down.

"I know, Fred."

"Can you forgive me?"

"I think a part of me already has," you respond shyly.

A moment passes and you look up from the carpet to see him staring at you.

"How come you won't wear my charm?" he quietly asks, a pained look on his face.

"Because you hurt me."

"I know Poppy, but I'm hurt too."

"I know," you whisper back at him. "I never meant to hurt you."

"I did. I didn't mean what I said, but I meant to hurt you. I meant to make you feel how I felt, and that was nasty of me. I regret it every day."

"Thank you."

Fred was sorry. Fred was talking to you, like an adult, and was admitting he was sorry. Maybe he wasn't as stupid as you thought. 

After another intimate moment, you look up, gesturing outside of the car, silently asking if he were ready to move.

A timid smile crosses his face and he nods quickly, pushing the front seat forward quietly, before opening the door and holding a hand out to help you up.

You quietly lock the car, and the two of you crouch against its side, hoping to avoid detection. Once you've determined it was clear, you run from the spot, heading towards the shed at a sprint. Fred runs behind you, though he could easily pass you if he wanted.

An indistinguishable shout comes from behind you, and you quickly realize Ron has spotted you both. 

A laugh escapes your lips as you push your legs harder, hoping to remain out of his reach. But Ron is fast, and he begins to close the distance. Just as you think you're done for, Fred comes barreling up to you, and scoops you in his arms, laughing hard. He slides you on to his back and continues his run to the shed, Ron quickly falling behind.

By the time you make it to the shed you're laughing from joy, and Fred can't help but smile as he sets you down. You find out that Ginny and Harry were spotted rather quickly, Harry couldn't keep himself quiet, Ginny informs you through a smirk. George got caught as he was trying to climb down the tree, which just left you and Fred.

George is smiling at the two of you together, and you roll your eyes at him, trying to convince everyone it was nothing serious, trying to convince yourself. Fred was working you over quicker than you had expected him too, his easy going nature was so different from Draco's. He was playful in a way that you missed.

The group played a few more rounds before deciding to call it quits.

Harry and Ron decided to go to bed, while you, George, Fred, and Ginny decided to stay up, still fired up on adrenaline. The four of you sat outside on a blanket that you had managed to conjure up, passing the remaining liquor around. Once the bottle was empty, you lay down on the blanket watching the stars twinkle above, feeling the alcohol dull your senses.

"So, are you two friends again?" George asks awkwardly, picking at his cuticles as if preparing for the worst.

"As long as Poppy wants to be," Fred responds, looking to you for an answer.

"As long as you're done making me fail potions assignments," you answer back, fighting a smile against your lips.

"Awwww, so gross!" Ginny exclaims through a laugh. "So this means you're done with Angelina right? Because I rather hate her."

"Yes, Angelina and I are done. She says rather mean things about Poppy, and I couldn't be friends with Poppy while I was dating someone who were mean to her."

You take a gulp, seems like eerily similar situations.

"Or maybe it wasn't hatred, maybe Angelina was jealous..." George says through a laugh.

"He really is the dumb twin," Ginny spits out.

You laugh with her and George at the expense of Fred, seeing his face turn pale. 

You're not sure if it's the alcohol or the events of today, but you reach out blindly, grabbing his hand, hoping to sooth him.

Fred rolls his head to the side to look over at you, a small smile breaking through, and you observe his face in the moonlight.

Comfort.

Fred was comfort. 

After a few moments, Ginny excuses herself for the night, leaving you with the twins.

You look back to the sky, and soon spot your favorite constellation, 'Columba,' as someone speaks up.

"This brings me back to Christmas, Lovey." Fred says, the nickname causing your stomach to flip.

You laugh as you think back to the last time you were out here, starring at the stars.

"Hopefully Fred doesn't get a boner this time, cause I am right here," George responds, reminding you of his presence.

"Oh Georgie, you act like I didn't get one when I was carrying Poppy earlier." Fred says, and you can hear the jest in his tone.

A laugh escapes your lips as you reach over to slap his chest playfully. After a small crack hits the air, he looks at you in mock horror, holding his chest as if he had been wounded. 

"I've seen Poppy naked, mate. You'll be disappointed," George retorts to his twin, before he falls victim to his own slap.

You snort at George's comment before letting a goofy grin become a permanent fixture on your face. The laughter carried through the air, the three of you trying to contain yourselves.

When was the last time you had been this genuinely happy?


	30. Hermione's Welcome

Things with Fred were slowly returning to normal. I stopped walking out the room once he entered, he stopped snarling at me, and everyone went back to making jokes. I even let 'Freddie' slip a few times, much to my dismay. They weren't perfect, but I had my friend back, and that's all I could have asked for.

A little piece of normalcy.

Hermione was arriving that day, as the last week of break were beginning.

You and Ron woke up early, eager for Hermione to show. You considered Ron barely awake. Once the two of you got downstairs he promptly planted himself on the couch, ready to doze off any minute. You studied his face intrigued. Whereas most of the kids had Arthur's features, you decided Ron resembled Molly the most. At the thought of Molly, you quickly decided to start breakfast, wanting to do something kind for her.

"Ron? Ron, do you have a preference for breakfast?" You whisper to the boy, careful not to wake the rest of the house.

"Any way you can make American pancakes? And eggs? Oh and streaky bacon.... mmm, and maybe some orange juice." he lists.

You stare at him dumbfounded, impressed but also annoyed with his request. You look at the clock and see it's 6:30, which meant you had plenty of time before the rest of the house even began to stir.

You move to the cupboards and pull out the appropriate dishes, then the fridge to grab your ingredients. You crack some eggs into a magically hot pan, and conjure your wand to continue the process while you focused on the pancakes.

The pancakes were going to require the most of your attention, so you decided to leave the eggs and bacon up to magic, while you were left to your own devices.

You quickly figured out the batter, and poured your first pancake, waiting a few minutes before flipping it. The pancake was ugly. Contorted, folded, and too pale in color, but the first always was. You offered it to Ron who greedily munched on it on the couch.

As you gathered a good rhythm, you found yourself singing while you cooked. Flipping pancakes and plating them, you suddenly heard a small creak at the door and turned your head to see Hermoine had finally joined.

Ron jumped off the couch; looking the most awake he had all morning, as he ran to hug Hermoine. The two of them embraced sweetly for a lingering moment before awkwardly pulling away. After they were done, you went up to a Hermoine and gave her a hug, placing her bags by the stairs.

"Do you want to go sleep for a few hours? We haven't made your bed yet, but you can sleep in mine, I'm just cooking breakfast," you tell her.

"Oh, I think I'll stay up, I doubt I'll be any help cooking, but I'll keep you company," she answers as Ron yawns.

You watch his eyes drop, slightly defeated, as he decides to stay awake too; to hangout with the girls, to hang out with Hermoine.

Hermione finds a spot at the long dining table as you continue making pancakes. You offer her a cup of coffee, knowing you two are the only ones who drink it.

You pour a cup of coffee for both of you, and set it down as Ron takes a spot across from her. You take a sip and let the brown liquid warm your body, feeling the caffeine kick in almost instantly.

"So how has break been?" Hermoine asks the two of you, a genuine curiosity in her tone.

"Oh good, great really. I've spent time with Molly and we all went to the pond yesterday since the weather was so nice." you tell your friend, flipping the final pancake.

"Oh good, I'm glad you decided to come after all. I was worried you'd be alone at Hogwarts since Fred has been such a wanker."

"Oh Mione," Ron tuts at her, as he knows information she does not. "I don't think Fred is a wanker, I think she wanks 'im," he says with a wink towards your direction. Fred and Poppy are growing quite close, Malfoy may need to get Pansy's tie back soon."

"I am not growing 'close' with your brother, Ronald. He's just decided to grow up. Friendly is all. And definitely no 'wanking," you say to him gritting through your teeth.

"Whatever you say Poppy, though I'm sure Malfoy won't be too pleased when he finds out you were riding Fred..."

Hermoine's eyebrow shoots up at this information, realizing she's seriously missing something.

"I DID NOT RIDE FRED!!" you yell at Ron, momentarily forgetting of the quiet house.

Ron giggles, "I didn't realize you'd be so embarrassed over a piggy back ride, Poppy, unless there's something we don't know...."

You glare at Ron for a minute before grabbing your wand and flickering it towards the finished plate of pancakes.

The plate slowly rises off the counter and hovers over the trash can.

"No, no Poppy, I'm sorry! Not the pancakes!" he begged.

You flash a grin, tasting victory. You put the pancakes back on the counter before turning to Hermoine.

"So how was your break?"

_________________

A few hours after Hermoine's arrival, the Burrow finally came alive. Molly and Arthur woke up first, followed by Harry, then the twins, and finally Ginny. That girl could sleep through anything.

Your breakfast managed to last a whole 6 minutes before being completely devoured, you were proud of your cooking skills, and started to clean up until Molly stopped you.

"You've already done so much by making breakfast! Why don't you and the girls go upstairs to get Hermoine settled, you can show her how far you've come by conjuring her bed," she says with a wink.

Hermoine and Ginny grab Hermoine's bags by the stairs, and the three of you begin the climb to Ginny's room. Once inside her room, the bags and beds are pushed to the side while you concentrate on conjuring Hermoine's bed. After two tries, you finally managed, and a large smile crosses your face, happy with what you've accomplished.

"Poppy! I am so proud of you!! Your wand skills have improved so much!" Hermoine gushes at you, the pride of your friend and tutor welling to the surface.

You smile at her, accepting the compliment, before throwing yourself on to your own bed.

It was only 10:30, but it was a long day so far. You let your eyes flutter shut, before a strong voice jolted you back awake.

"So, how was the threesome last night?" Ginny asks

You laugh, taken aback by her comment. "Ginny, I don't think I should have to inform you that I did not have a threesome with your brothers."

"Alright, alright, just a twosome with Fred then?" she bites back, eyes questioning.

"Wait, you and Fred are having sex? So Ron was right about you riding him?" Hermoine interjects

Ginny's eyes shot open, and you quickly hush her, trying to wrangle in her growing excitement.

"I am not having sex with Fred! We ended up stuck in the car together during hide and seek. We got some things cleared up, and then I got a piggy back ride! No sex! No kissing! No, nothing!" you say to your friends.

"Even though he dumped Angelina for you?" Ginny pushes further, not buying your answers.

"Ginny, he did not dump Angelina for Poppy. He dumped Angelina because of Poppy," Hermoine responds, as if those words made a difference.

"Okay, that's fair. Maybe we just need to-" Ginny says looking to Hermoine, as her hands pretend to push you and Fred together.

"If Fred wants to do something, it's up to him to make it happen," you say, a desperate tone escaping your lips.

"Like the charm he bought you in Hogsmeade? Like the piggy back ride? Like the moping to the boys about his feelings?" Ginny fires back, a smug look on her face.

"I'm sick of the boys in my life being useless, neither of them stepped up the plate, I shouldn't have to figure out their feelings for them," you groan, letting your head fall into your hands.

"She's right, Ginny. Fred is grown, if he wants Poppy then he's got a week of undivided attention to prove it."

Ginny makes a small nod, as she agrees with Hermoine's testament. Your head falls back on to the bed, grateful the conversation is over for a few different reasons. Silence fills the air, and the other two girls begin to doze as well, the calming silence of each others breathing fills the room.

The bedroom door bursts open and the three of you whip your heads to see who intruded on your peace.

George and Fred stand in the doorway, wild grins on their faces.

"Come on, get dressed, we're going to Muggle London!" George announces to the three of you.

"Whyyyyyy," Ginny groans to him.

"We're testing a new product for the shop. An aging candy. So put on something revealing, because we're getting right drunk today!" he says to the group before turning around.

And with that, the two turn to leave, Fred sending a subtle wink your way.


	31. Muggle London

Once the boys leave the room, you and Ginny spring to your feet, excited for the day. You run to your trunk and throw it open, hoping you have something that'll work, and Ginny rushes to her closet, hoping for the same. As the two of you begin tossing appropriate clothes onto the bed, you turn around to see Hermione hasn't moved from her spot, just watching you two create a war zone throughout the room.

"We can't go to London! It is ILLEGAL to drink underage, we will get caught," she says, her arms crossing against her chest.

"Mione, come onnnnnn, it'll be fun!! The thrill of being caught is what makes it fun!"Ginny says, poking her in the side.

"Yes! You don't have to drink if you don't want, you can just... make sure we're all safe!" you offer to her, hoping to ease her in. "Plus we're all barelyyy young enough to drink. Okay, well except Ginny..."

"See! Molly and Arthur will be furious!" Hermoine says pointedly

"They won't find out! And if they do, Fred and George will take the slack for making us in this mess! It'll be fine!!" Ginny pleads with her.

"Please!"

"Pleaseee"

"Please please please!!!"

Hermoine lets out a short huff, before walking to Ginny's closet and grabbing a top.

"Fine. But I'm wearing this," she responds.

You and Ginny squeal, before turning back to your own clothes.

After a few moments of deliberation, you decide on a yellow halter top, bootcut jeans, a leather jacket, and some Doc Martens. The weather today was pretty overcast, and wet, no shock to anyone. Ginny changes into a plaid skirt and a long sleeve top, while Hermione sits in jeans and a gray button cardigan. You convince her to leave a few buttons undone to show some cleavage, while Ginny wrangles mascara on to the girl.

Once Hermione's look is finished, you and Ginny start to finish getting yourselves ready. As you begin dusting some blush across your cheek, Harry knocks quietly before stepping in.

"Okay, so the plan is to meet out by the car in 20 minutes. Molly and Arthur are in the garden, so make sure to avoid that side of the house. We're going to sneak to the portkey from there," he whispers to you all, his eyes landing on Ginny. "Ginny, you look... lovely."

"Geez Harry, just say she looks hot," you poke at him. His face turns beet red and he steps into the hallway, closing the door to allow you all to finish getting ready.

You can hear the boys walk past the door and down the steps. Loud whispers filling the hallways. Hermione rolls her eyes at their inability to sneak, and you and Ginny quickly finish getting ready.

The three of you bounce down the stairs, trying to be as quick as possible. Once outside, you run towards the car, the boys waiting where they said they would.

George quickly ushers the group through the trees, and you all walk for about 10 minutes before coming to a an old tire on the ground. The port key.

"Okay, so how are we going to do this?" you ask the group, who's now circled around the tire.

"Right, right," George responds before pulling some taffy's out of his pockets.

"These are our 'Old Fashioned Taffys,' you eat one and it'll date you 5 years. We took a play from our last attempt at aging ourselves during the Tri-Wizard tournament and found out that jumping that many years with one potion wasn't feasible. So, we created these. For every taffy you eat, your appearance will age by 5 years, eat 2 then you look 10 years older, etc." Fred explained to the group.

"And how long does it last?" Hermoine asks, reserve flooding her voice.

"Approximately... 5 hours, after that, you slowly age backwards until you're right where you started," George says with a grin.

The boys were smart. You were impressed with this, and you'd be more impressed if it actually worked.

The two of them hand out a taffy to everyone, and you study it, the gray candy wasn't appealing, but you shrugged that feeling off before throwing it in your mouth. You chewed slowly as the candy got stuck between your teeth, and you almost threw the thing up when you started to taste dirt and menthol.

Apparently you were the only who decided to go for it, because you looked up to see everyone watching your face as you ate it.

Disgusting.

"Pretty gross. Maybe don't chew it," you offer to the group. "Do I look older yet?"

Everyone stares at you intently, and eyes gape open as your features change. You're not sure what happened, but George begins to nod in approval before eating his own candy. You watch the group as everyone takes the candy, a few gags and forced swallows surround you.

Once everyone is fully aged, you all grab for the port key before being transported away.

______________________

Muggle London was busy, but exciting. You followed George and Fred down the streets, taking in the shops and sights. You never got to properly explore London before heading to Hogwarts, and you hoped for a trip back soon to see some landmarks.

It was a little past noon once you all had arrived, and the group was starting to grow hungry. You all decided to stop at a pub for lunch, filling your stomachs and testing out the taffy's effect before going somewhere a little more exciting.

The taffy seemed to work well at the pub, the only person who had a hard time getting a drink was Ron. But his consistent attempts to trip Harry was probably to blame.

After lunch, you all ventured to the next pub, beginning a proper pub crawl.

You got in to the next 3 places without a hitch, sticking to the only drink you could order without embarrassing yourself. After about 5 gin and tonics, you're smashed.

You look around the table and watch your friends interact with each other. Harry looked animated, telling a story about one of the first times he accidentally let his magic loose on his cousin, Dudley.

Everyone was listening to the story intently, and you observed their drunken state.

Ginny's eyes danced as Harry spoke. Ron seemed rather engaged, calling Dudley some foul names every chance he got. Hermione watched Harry talk as she nursed a drink, maybe her second of the day. And George sat there, twirling his stirrer for a few moments too long, eyes glazed over before turning his attention to the group, forgetting his surroundings for a moment.

George might be the only one as drunk as you.

When you turn to see Freddie, he's watching you intently, an expression in his eyes you can't make out. Feeling bold, you throw a wink his direction, trying to ease any existing tension between you two.

A laugh escapes Fred's lips, and he shakes his head before turning back to his beer.

"Hey Pops, why don't we pace ourselves?" Hermione says abruptly, going to grab you a glass of water.

"I feel fine," you mutter under your breathe. It must not have been as quiet as you had intended because George let out a bellowing laugh from next to you.

Hermione brings your water to the table, and places it in front of you, removing your gin and tonic from its place.

You let out a small pout in protest, and George sends a pouty look your way, imitating you. You can't help but smile at him, and lay your head against his shoulder, deciding to let the alcohol finish its course.

As the group continues its conversation, Ron convinces everyone to hit one last pub before going home.

You swing your legs off your chair to get down, when a hand reaches out to help you down. You quickly grab the hand and jump off the stool, and your legs buckle at the sudden weight.

Okay, maybe you were drunk.

You look up to see Fred fighting back a smile, suddenly realizing it was his hand you were holding.

"Have one too many?" He asks, eyes lighting up as you meet his.

You stick your tongue out at him, aware of how childish it seemed, but words failed you.

Fred held your hand all the way to the next pub, ensuring Ginny that it was purely to make sure you didn't fall again.

Maybe it was the alcohol, but you realized you didn't mind holding his hand. His large hands engulfing yours, warming your fingers as if he was a radiator.

Once you all managed to hit the next pub, you took a note from Hermione and ordered a water, deciding a port key back while drunk would surely make you sick.

You sat at a high table while everyone else grabbed a drink, and you noticed that Fred had followed you empty handed.

"Bit of a lightweight, Freddie?" you ask him, batting your eyelashes playfully, trying to rouse him.

"Someone's got to be the responsible one, plus between you and George stumbling, I'd like to keep my wits about me," he says with a smirk.

The rest of the group joins you both at the table, and the conversation shifts to George and Fred's plans for the joke shop. They were working mail in orders trying to raise money, and though they had seed money from Harry, they wanted to have a little more established before diving in.

You were proud of them, they had been working on this dream long before you arrived and you were excited to see where they'd go. You were looking to Fred while he explained some of the logistical aspects of it, when an elbow prodded your side.

George was staring at you, a questioning look, and you furrowed your brows trying to decipher what it meant.

"You're staring," he whispered to you.

"Am not," you respond quickly.

"A few drinks and you're falling all over him, play it cool Pops!"

You consider his words before turning back to the conversation; Fred was staring at you; well at your lips. You respond by licking them, George's word immediately forgotten.

This is not playing it cool.

Fred's eyes flash at you, his eyes darken at your response. You decide to feign innocence and turn back to George, trying to ignore the knot growing inside of you.

Play it cool, Poppy..

You feel pressure on your thigh, and see a familiar hand placed there. Warm. Electricity tingling in your core.

Fred.


	32. Unfinished Business

The group managed to sneak back to the Burrow undetected. Despite you and George being the drunkest at the last pub, the port key had some adverse affects. The trip had quickly sobered you up, but for George, the fall was what affected him. He was the closest to landing on his feet, but once he made contact with the ground, all drinks of the day were promptly thrown up in the field. The vomit must have cleared the toxins from his body, because he appeared right as rain after that.

Ron and Harry threw up from the port key as well, however this just pushed them further into their drunken state, they struggled to walk properly towards the Burrow, tumbling and dragging Ginny and Hermione down as two tried to keep them upright. Hermione was a sympathy puker, and despite the little she had to drink that day, she seemed to throw up the most. Constantly fighting back gags as Ron narrowly avoided her shoes.

As the girls struggled with the boys, you and George practically skipped back to the Burrow, hand in hand as you both mumbled through a muggle song you had heard earlier.

"A mess, the whole lot of you" Fred sighed into his palm, shaking his head.

"Oh shove off Fred," Ron groaned into Hermione's side, as if he were using her body as a shield.

"Oi, almost forgot! Can't have Mum catching on now can we?" George asked as he conjured 7 little vials of Pepperup Potion out of thin air.

He passes them around the group, and you study the vial, watching it's red fluid cling to the jar like wine.

Without a second thought, Hermione quickly downs the potion, and you watch as steam pours out of her ears in large quantities, all signs of nausea washing away from her. Her posture is quickly adjusted, and the group follows suite, allowing all signs of intoxication to be gone.

The steam pours out of Ron, but he continues to look a little unsteady, though you're not sure if its because he's hoping Hermione attention remains.

Once the Burrow is in sight, you let out a small sigh, sad that your day has ended.

"Oh cheer up, Pops, you know the day is never dull when I'm around. I was thinking you teach us about crank calls?" George says to you. You smile at your friend, and nod your head at his suggestion.

You continue your pace, a few yards behind Ron, Ginny, Harry and Hermione, but ahead of Fred. As the four younger ones walk through the door, you hear a loud yell from inside the house.

Molly.

Your eyes widen and you whip your head back towards the twins, who have an equally shocked expression as well.

"Where have you been?!" Molly yells to her unlucky victims, and you swear you can see the house shake in fear.

You slowly take a step backwards, still keeping yours eyes on the doorframe, carefully making sure no one comes to rat you out. You turn yourself around and run straight to the chicken coop, the twins keeping your same pace as they tumble behind you.

The door to the coop is thrown open, and feathers fly as you startle the resting birds.

You try to slam the door shut, but George and Fred manage to push against it, throwing themselves inside as well.

"You idiots!! You just made it easier for her to find us!!" You scold the boys in a loud whisper.

"George, go talk to Mum!!" Fred whispers to his brother.

"No! You heard her!! She'll kill us!"

"You owe me!! I took the fall from Umbridge last week! Mum is a walk in the park compared to Umbridge!!"

Your head bounces between the twins as they negotiate a deal, and soon George drops his head with defeat before heading back to the Burrow.

Finding an overturned bucket to sit on, you plant yourself down, expecting this to take a while. Fred soon follows suit, and sits cross legged on the ground in front of you.

"So what'd ya think?" he asks you, maintaining a whisper.

"I think the taffy worked great, however the taste could be greatly improved," you respond, shuttering at the thought of its taste lingering on your tongue.

"Yes, taste is rather hard to avoid with potions, despite that I thought today was a smash."

You nod in response, thinking of how fun Muggle London was, already planning your next trip to see Dad.

A silence passes over the two of you, and you watch the chickens slowly relax as they begin realize there is no threat. A white hen walks in front of you, it's head with freckled black spots across it's feathers, you reach a hand out to pet it, wondering what it's feathers feels like.

"You looked beautiful today," the boy whispers from across you.

You look up to meet his face, hoping to read it for any sign of meaning. His eyes are brown, but you notice flecks of gold dancing across them as his eyes meet yours. A shy grin begins to slowly spread, and his eyes turn upwards as they finally connect.

"Thanks Freddie," you whisper back, wondering if it even made a difference. You lose yourself in your thoughts as the chicken slowly comes closer to you, not retreating like you had expected.

Pop.

You look up to see what happened, and you see Fred holding a small metal piece in his hands, turning it over, studying it as if it may disappear. As you watch him, you can see his chest tighten, as he starts to move. Fred doesn't quite stand up, rather scooting the few feet between the two of you, before settling right in front of you. Despite your position on the bucket and his on the floor, his face is level with yours, yet he struggles to meet your gaze.

As his enticing smell reaches your nose, all thoughts of the metal is gone from your mind, your heart racing as you realize your distance from him. So close. While you fight the sudden urge to reach out, to touch him, his hand moves towards yours, before his tender fingers settle around your wrist.

A small gasp escapes your lips, as his warms fingers play with your charm bracelet, spinning it around your wrist, shooting little jolts of electricity to your core with every fleeting touch.

You study the interaction carefully, and Fred slowly undoes his fist, revealing the F charm he had bought for you. A pang of guilt tugs at your heart, as you realize he knew you hadn't put it on yet. As you fight off the blush of embarrassment from your face, he quickly finds an empty spot on the chain, and attaches the charm.

"So I'm always with you," he whispers, so quiet that you're unsure if you were meant to hear it.

Once the charm is attached he slowly removes his wand from his pocket, and places the tip against the spot where the charm meets the chain and mumbles something under his breath. You watch as the charm solders to the chain, connecting it forever.

"I may not have won you over yet, but I'm not going anywhere. I know what I want. I know I've messed up. But I know you're right for me, and I'm going to keep trying to show you that I'm right for you too," he says firmly. All sense of timidness gone from his voice, his unwavering acknowledgment hanging hard in the air.

You pull your eyes up from the chain on your wrist, meeting his with a nervous acceptance at what just happened. Of course you cared for Fred, but his admittance of feelings for you sent shock through your body as you try to process the events.

Fred had admitted to his feelings without any guidance. I didn't have to work for this. I didn't have to force any solutions. Fred wants this.

Fred wants me.

As his eyes stare back at you, a warmth runs through your core, flooding your heart with sunshine, and the nervous blush finally hits your cheeks.

Fred takes a small nibble of his bottom lip, before meeting to connect with yours. The taste of vanilla whiskey lingers as he kisses you deeply, and you can feel his hand run behind the nape of your neck as he gently fingers your hair. With a growing confidence you slide your tongue inside his, and taste him, savoring this kiss, hoping to make up for all the missed time.

A small groan escapes his lips as your hand moves to cup his jaw, pulling him closer to you. Your heart pounds in your chest, and you can feel your ribs fighting to keep it contained.

As the kissing intensifies, Fred's hand slides out of your hair, moving it down to your waist before using it to pull you off of your seat. Not letting your lips part, you slide down to his level, straddling him on the floor, as he nibbles on your bottom lip.

You moan into his mouth, wanting more, so much more.

Your hand falls from his jaw, and you let it trace his chest, moving down until you find the hem of his shirt, rolling it between your fingers as his hands rub against your back. Unable to contain your growing desire, your hand slips up into his shirt and your fingers tremble as they feel the carved muscles on his chest, and you can feel Fred suck in a breathe underneath you.

"About bloody time," a voice comes from the door, and you let out a groan, before turning to its producer.

Ginny stands in the doorway, with Harry behind her, and you try to normalize your breath, feeling Fred do the same.

"Ginny, I'll kill you," Fred says to his little sister, a red creeping up his face as the two of you revel in the provocative position you're still in.

"We're in the clear. George told Mum we went to London to go to the History Museum and she demands to hear all about it at dinner. She's made Sheppards Pie, come on," Ginny states as she turns back towards the Burrow, and you catch an equally embarrassed look on Harry's face as yours.

You jump off of Fred's lap and bring your hands to your face, rubbing your cheeks with force, hoping to send the blush way. Fred watches you with curiosity as he brings himself to his feet, studying your movements as you try to make yourself presentable. And you jump as a small kiss is planted against your forehead, sweet and sincere, and you notice a look of comfort on Fred that you haven't seen in a while.

"Til next time, Lovey," he whispers before turning to the Burrow.


	33. Crank Calls

"I think I'm confused."

"Godric, Ronald. Were you even listening?" Ginny retorts to her brother, rolling her eyes as she pulls the phone off the hook.

The group of you are crowded around the wall, watching as Ginny enters in a random sequence of numbers. 

"It's lucky your dad loves muggle stuff so much, I don't think prank calls would work on my pager," you say to Ginny.

"A pager?" Ron asks quizzically, sending you, Hermione, and Harry into a collective giggle.

"It's ringing," she whispers. "Oh! I've missed you!" she gushes into the line, as you try to quiet George's giggles from next to you.

"Who am I? How could you forget me so easily? I LOVE you!" she says, feigning hurt to the receiver.

You giggle and look to see Harry, eyebrow piqued as he watches Ginny continue on her call.

All you guys can hear is a muffled noise from the phone as responses, but Ginny's comments are enough to make it worth it.

"How many women call you to say they love you? Well if you could forget me so easily then that's it, we are THROUGH!!" the red head shouts before slamming the phone against the wall.

As the call ends, the group erupts into laughter, before Fred decides it's his turn next.

He follows the same pattern as Ginny, typing in numbers until it begins to ring, someone must have answered, because his brown eyes grow wide as he looks around the group for help.

"Who is this?" he asks, and you see Ron slap his palm against his head, and you feel his disappointment, knowing this will go south.

"Me? Well I'm Fred. Who are you? What? You called me!"

"I don't know what you're going on about, but can I help you? Mate! Mate! You called me!"

You can hear the buzz of a dead line, and Fred puts the phone back on the hook, before turning to eye the group for approval.

"Not your best, mate, but we'll get there," George says to his counterpart.

"Yeah, pretty lame." you chid in.

"Well, ex-cuh-use me, Poppy. But we didn't all grow up as heathens," Fred quips back at you.

You fight back a giggle before hitting his chest weakly, "coming from you!"

A yawn breaks out from behind you, and you turn to Hermione before she's able to close her mouth.

"I think I'm off to bed, it's been a long day," she says.

A few more quips and goodnights from the group, and you find yourself alone with George.

"Bitching!!" you spew, excited for some time with your best friend.

"Wanna go get crunk?" George replies back in a contorted tone.

"Crunk??" you laugh, amused at his attempt for American slang.

He nods his head and makes a small smoking motion, and you quickly gather his intentions.

"Yes, George, let's go get 'crunk,'" you wink back at him.

"Okay, you go out to the pond, and I'll go grab some weed." he whispers to you.

You nod at him, watching him bound up the stairs as quietly as possible for a 6 foot man, as you grab a blanket off of the couch before heading to the pond.

______________________

The weed that George brought wasn't bad, he bought it off of some 4th year Ravenclaw a few weeks ago, who charged entirely too little.

The two of you laid next to the pond, a wave of calm washing over you, while George giggled at himself. His hand was holding yours, though it was really to keep him grounded, he got so out of hand when he smoked.

"So, we're wearing Fred's charm now?" he asks

"I guess we are. He's... trying."

"So what does that mean? Are you and Malfoy over then?"

"Well Draco and I weren't really... together. At least not that I know of. And I can't really tell him it's done, unless I want a repeat of last time." you say through a sigh.

"So then what about Freddie?"

"I don't know, he said he was going to win me over, and we made out. I don't know, Georgeeeeee" you whine at him

"When did you make out with Fred?" he says quickly, shifting from his back to his side to face you.

"Today in the chicken coop, and it was... bliss." you say, shuttering at the memory of your hands on Fred's chest.

The two of you sit there, in a peaceful silence, while you both consider what to say next, what it all means.

A rustle in the grass behind you draws both of your attention, and you turn to see a toned red head coming near.

"Speak of the devil," you mutter to George.

"Thought I'd find you lot out here, went to grab a glass of water and figured I'd come find ya. Ron is snoring up a storm." Fred says, clearly oblivious to your comment.

Fred sits on the other side of George, and George hands him what's left of the blunt, before laying back down.

"Cant believe I was going to miss all the fun," Fred says as you watch him pull the joint between his lips as he takes a drag. You watch it happen, as if it were slow motion, and you can't help but stare at his pink lips, wishing you could transfigure into that blunt.

A small cough from Fred draws you back to reality, "bit too strong for ya?" George quips from beside you.

"Not at all, just couldn't focus with Pops staring me down," he responds sending a small smirk in your direction.

You can feel your face flush at his comment, completely unaware of how obvious you had been.

"Well from what I hear, bloke, you were all too happy for her attention earlier." George says to his twin.

Fred sends a gaping look at the two of you, and you giggle, "What? Like you weren't going to tell him," you reply with a shrug.

The three of you sit on the blanket as Fred finishes the blunt, watching as you find small stones to skip across the pond's surface, letting the hours pass by.

"Well this has been fun my friends, but now I'm off to send Oliver a letter," George says, standing up clumsily.

"Bad idea in your state," you say, studying him as he tries to find his groundings.

"Terrible idea actually," Fred responds as he moves closer, taking over the space George once occupied.

"You know Poppy, if you wanted to hook up, you only had to ask, Fred is a terrible replacement," George retorts with a smirk, before leaving you with Fred.

You can feel the heat rising on your cheeks, and you bite your lip agonizing in the embarrassment. Fred lets out a laugh, loud and genuine, and a smile betrays you as you revel in his happiness.

This smile isn't his usual, his eyes light up with it, and you can see the whites of his teeth.

It's contagious.

And soon you're laughing too, watching him as you share this moment. His eyes soften as he notices you've joined him, and his hand shoots towards you, startles you. You jump back a little before he makes contact, his fingers jabbing your side, tickling you.

Your laugh turns harsh, more desperate and you beg him to stop.

"Fre-Fred," you beg through gasps, "Freddie, stop!"

His hands don't stop though, and they're covering your body, trailing tickles against you, pushing you to the ground as you fight for air.

You're on your back, laughing, gasping, as Fred continues his pursuit.

As you move yourself away from him in an attempt to dodge another round of fits, the ginger loses his balance, and falls against you, his body meeting yours.

It's so quick, like a switch flipped.

You're still gasping, but it's a different touch that leaves you breathless.

He's hovering on top of you, his knees straddling you, with his palm planted next to your head, supporting his weight.

Freds fingers trail your torso, warm against your stomach as he digs towards your shirts hem. And you both watch his touch dance across your skin, his finger brushes next to your belly button and you can feel your stomach flip.

You look up to meet his gaze, his honey eyes look desperate but patient. You let your eyes drop to his lips, and he nibbles his bottom lip nervously. It puts you over the edge.

You pull your hands up to the nape of his neck, before pulling him down towards your lips. The kiss is passionate, it's desperate, and it's tearing you apart quickly.

Fred's hands continue to trace your torso over your shirt as you probe your tongue through his lips, gently parting them, wanting to savor his taste. He lets you in, and rolls his tongue against yours, as you breathe into him.

Your hand moves into his hair, twisting and pulling it, as you attempt to bring him further into you. Fred is as impatient as you are, because as you make your advancements, he takes it as a form of permission, and you can feel his hand traveling up your shirt, against your bare stomach, before finding the ridge of your bra.

A small gasp erupts from you, as he moves dangerously close to an area you long to be touched.

He pulls his hand back and stops kissing you.

"What? Did I do something wrong?" you ask quizzically, trying to calm yourself, to let the heat building simmer.

"No, Poppy, of course not. I don't want to do anything you're not willing to. Just tell me to stop if I need to okay? I know you and Malfoy... well, just... just tell me if this is wrong." he says awkwardly, and you can feel your heart break as you watch his expressions twist as he tries to speak.

"Fuck Malfoy," you mutter before pulling him back to meet your kiss.

There's no holding back this time. You're desperate for him. Wanting him.

You grab his hand, which he now holds timidly at your waist, and rest it on your breast, before turning your own fingers to him.

He's still on top of you, but he's awkward. Afraid of pushing you too far.

You grab his neck again, and let your teeth graze his bottom lip, biting it gently, before he moans against your mouth. In his distraction, you flip him on his back, and straddle him, gently placing yourself on his lap.

Fred looks at you in awe, and you reach down to swiftly pull your shirt over your head. His hands move to your chest, tracing lines as he studies your figure in the moonlight.

"You're breath taking," he says quietly, letting his warm fingers trace the hemline of your bra before fiddling with the straps.

"Now's not the time for nerves, Fred," you whisper back, moving your hands behind your back, unhooking your bra before letting it fall on to him.

His brown eyes grow dark, and you can feel him completely hard underneath you. Fred moves to gently cup your breast before kissing you, firmly. The timidness gone, a growing hunger replacing it.

He leans up, moving off of his back, but leaving you straddling him, and he moves his mouth from yours, trailing kisses against your jaw, before gently biting your neck. You groan against him, grinding yourself into him, feeling the wetness grow in your panties.

"Fred-" you moan into the air.

Fred doesn't stop. After leaving little bites along your neck, he moves his kisses down, sucking along your collarbone as he makes his way to your breast. You pull your head down to watch him, your desperation growing more and more.

His eyes look up at yours, as the hand on your breast begins to massage, you look into his eyes and can feel your fire growing.

"Please Freddie," you whimper

Fred leans his mouth down, placing a gentle kiss on your breast, making you breathe in sharply. He keeps his eyes on yours, as he places your nipple into his mouth, sucking gently, letting his tongue make circles. You can feel your hips drive into him as you moan into the night sky.

You let your fingers find the hem of his shirt, and yank it up over his head, wanting to devour him whole. He brings his lips back down to yours, rolling his tongue into your mouth as he rolls your nipple between his fingers.

He places you down on your back and takes a final look at you, before letting his fingers move to the button of your jeans. He slowly undoes them, and you lift your hips, helping him pull your jeans down.

Fred places them to the side, and you close your eyes, dwelling in bliss as you feel his fingers trail the hemline of your panties, up against your stomach, to your collarbone and back down. He plants gentle kisses along your stomach and you silently beg for the moment not to end. His kisses are bliss. And you can feel the blood leaving your head as he drives you into pleasure.

Fred's hands run south now, and he lets his fingers trail across your panties, before resting on the ball of nerves. He puts gentle pressure on it with his thumb, while his other fingers rub the outside of your panties, now damp with desire.

"Fuck, Lovey," he murmurs through kisses against your stomach.

As he rubs your clit, your head rolls, moans escaping your lips, and you're desperately close to begging.

More. More. More.

You arch your back, bringing yourself closer to him, forcing your body against his. He lifts his face, stopping the kisses, and he lets his hands go to the hemline of your underwear, slowly pulling it over your legs.

But he stops, and a twisted expression crosses his face.

Because for a moment you forgot. For a moment you were lost. For a moment you wanted nothing more than to be his.

It was like a car crash, watching it all unfold.

Fred reached for his wand and cast 'lumos' before bringing the tip near the spot on your thigh.

And those perfect little letters brought the world crashing down.

D.M.


	34. Scars

He pulled away from me; hard, fast. It was hard to ignore the twisted face he made, as his brain processed the letters burned into my skin. He was standing now, staring down at me. He was still shirtless, but I quickly covered myself, embarrassed.

Silence passed. Endless silence.

"Freddie...say something. Say anything" 

"Di-did-did- did he hurt you?" he whimpered, and you can see his eyes growing glassy.

"No, I'm okay. I'm not hurt. I didn't ask for it, but I also didnt- okay, uhm Fred I'm okay. It was just, I don't know. It's just Draco, you know."

"What-what does... it mean?"

"It means nothing, Freddie," you say reaching up for his hand. "It, it was just like the tie, Draco- I don't know how to explain this."

He stared at you. Watching you. And you could see the reflection of a single tear hitting his cheek, briefly, before he apparated away from you.

He never apparated around you. You honestly forgot he could. 

You laid in bed, running over what had happened time and time again. Analyzing, hoping for an answer.

The tears came for hours, and you tried to muffle your sobs from Ginny and Hermione, who were both asleep, none the wiser of how your life was crumbling.

You kept replaying Fred's face as he saw the scar. 

Disgusted. 

You shiver, and crawl out of your bed, moving towards Ginny's.

She looked so peaceful, so content. And you watched her chest rise and fall for a few moments before pulling her blanket back and climbing in.

"Hmmmph," she questions, half asleep.

"Sorry, Gin, I just, I need you."

"Mkay, Poppy," she murmurs, before nuzzling her head into you, drifting back into her slumber.

You listen to her breathing, feel her chest rise and fall against you, and let her calm wash over you. 

It doesn't work.

But the crying tired you out, and eventually, you find yourself in a deep sleep.

_____________________________

You groggily open your eyes, feeling them swollen shut from last nights crying. You look up to see Ginny sitting crosslegged on the bed, facing you, but looking past. You slowly turn around and see Hermione, sitting in a similar position looking at you.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Ginny asks once she realizes you're awake.

"Muffliato," you chant at the door.

"Yikes, that bad?" Hermione asks as you sit up, leaning against Ginny's headboard.

"Infinitely worse," you respond to the witch. "So.. yesterday Fred and I made out. And he admitted his feelings for me..."

"About bloody time," Ginny interrupts.

"Well, yes... kind of. Okay, so we make out, and then we're messing around last night by the pond, and it was definitely going somewhere.. until he saw..."

Hermione gasped next to you, "He saw Malfoy's mark?"

You visibly cringe at her words, and the memory of his face. "He definitely saw it. He looked so hurt and disgusted and- and he just left. Wait- how do you know about the mark?"

"Sorry" Ginny grimaces, "It hasn't healed?"

"It is healed, I don't know what kind of spell it was, but it looked healed the next day, it's just scarred. And I didn't mind it being there when it was only Draco, but I don't want now it. I don't want Fred to see it. And I don't want to see anyone look so disgusted at me again." you respond, pulling your pants off, letting the girls hover over the mark.

"Hmmm, it's not dark magic. Not blood magic... should be easy enough to heal. I can read through some of my potion books and try to find a way to heal the scarring? That fixes at least one problem," Hermione offered.

You nod quickly at her, sending a thankful smile which she quickly returns.

"So what do I do about Fred? You should have seen his face," you say through a whimper, feeling a sob build at the back of your throat.

"You could let Fred put his initials on your right thigh?" Ginny responds.

"Ginny!" Hermione scolds

"Only a joke, Mione. Plus I hardly doubt Fred is into that kind of stuff." Ginny scoffs.

You picture your thighs, each having a different set of initials burned into them and you let out a giggle.

"What?" Hermione asks, curiosity crossing her face. 

"Just thinking 'bout what Ginny said," you stutter through another laugh, this time Ginny joins you.

You look up to see Hermione staring at you both, as if you had gone crazy, and this sends you into another fit of laughter.

Maybe I have gone crazy?

"GIRLS!!!!" you hear Molly yell from down below.

"Shit. What time is it?" you ask the two.

"Erm- yikes. Almost 10, we need to go downstairs. Mum will be furious if we don't eat breakfast."

"It wont be too terrible, Poppy, Fred I mean. It'll be like when he was with Angelina, but awkward and not mean?" Hermione offers as she puts a sweater on.

You consider this and nod, it can't possibly be worse than when he was dating Angelina. You quickly grab a robe and pull your leggings on. Full coverage clothing from now on seemed safe.

The three of you head downstairs before sitting at the table, and you strategically place yourself in between George and Ginny. 

Breakfast progresses fine, until you accidentally catch Fred's gaze. His eyes were bloodshot, it didn't look like he had slept at all. As you're studying his mannerisms, you feel a poke in your side, and look to see George.

"Want to go for a walk after?" he whispers to you.

"Please."

____________________________

"Fred is torn up, you know?" George says, kicking a stone as you two follow an old path.

"I feel terrible. I was up half the night crying. You should have seen his face George, he looked so... disgusted with me. I could throw up just thinking about it."

"Oh, I saw his face. He came to the room a wreck. Sobbing. We had to sneak into Percy's old room so Ron and Harry wouldn't hear. I don't think he's mad at you. I think he's upset at himself. He just didn't expect it. It also didn't help that I knew about it... but really I think he just wants to kill Malfoy."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" you ask George, unsure what to take of his twisted words.

"Just thought you'd like to know.. this probably isn't the end Poppy. So don't go throwing this charm away too," he jokes, trying to slice through the awkward tension.

"Well what do you think I should do about Fred then? Mione is gonna help me get rid of the scar."

"I think your best bet is to give him some distance, let him work out that you're okay. I'll be doing all the heavy lifting though, don't worry. I'm gonna take him to a pub later, nothing some butter beer can't fix." he replies with a wink.

You two walk in silence, as you see the Burrow come up close. George was right, it always seemed that Fred just needed to be alone, needed to process his issues himself. You only had 2 days of break left, you could handle it.

Right?


	35. Cauldron

After your walk, you find yourself on the living room floor with Hermione and Ron. Harry and Ginny had snuck off somewhere to snog, while George and Fred apparated to a pub in a nearby town.

You didn't spend much time alone with Hermione and Ron, well mostly Ron. While you were fond of the other Weasley's, Ron wasn't someone you got to know as intimately, so you were never quite sure how an interaction may go.

You and Ron sat patiently around Hermione as she poured over her potions books, trying to find something to heal the scarring. You tried to read the recipes as she went, but her fingers moved so quick across the page that it was hard to keep up.

"So let me get this straight, you let Malfoy brand you? Like a cow?" Ron says in disbelief.

Everyone knows about this damned scar in this damned house. No secrets.

"Ronald!" Hermione gasps, at his question, not letting her focus leave the text.

"Well Ronald, it was a sex thing, not like you'd know though," you spit back at the red head.

You watch his face turn red, as he scrunches his nose at your response.

"Oh I know loads about sex, Poppy," he says, but you know that's not true. He knows that's not true. You ignore his failed attempt at a rebuttal before turning back to Hermione.

"I'm sorry I'm not more help Hermione, I have a potion we used back home for scarring, but I don't think it'll work to counteract whatever magic Draco used... we just used it for non-magical scars," you say to your friend, feeling useless.

"Not a problem, Poppy, I've actually found a potion I think might work, but I don't have the proper supplies for it... we'll have to wait until we go back to Hogwarts unfortunately."

You wince, saddened that this will have to wait, sad that you can't get rid of this nasty thing on your thigh.

"Well why can't we go just to Hogwarts today? Break ends soon anyways, and Harry said he needed to go talk to Umbridge, she's still got to approve Gryffindor for our quidditch game next week," Ron offers.

"Won't Molly be upset?" you ask him, fearful at hurting her feelings.

"Nah, Percy used to leave early every year. He said it was prefect duties, then Headboy duties. But Hermione and I haven't had any prefect duties to make us leave early... think he was just tired of us. Twat." Ron replies with a shrug.

"It's settled then! I need more library time before my OWLs anyway. Ron you go grab Harry and pack, Poppy and I will go pack as well, we'll meet here in... 20 minutes," the curly haired girl said firmly.

At Hermione's directions, you and Ron both jump off the floor, Hermione intimidates you, but Ron is out right fearful of her.

You and Hermione reach Ginny's landing, and you forget to knock, throwing the door open. As the door swings open, you see Harry is laying on top of Ginny, his hand on her waist, deep in a kiss.

Hermione lets out a loud cough behind you, "Harry, I'm sorry to break this up, but Ron will come up the landing any moment, and I'd hate for him to see you like this."

You watch Harry's face go red as he realizes you two are in there, and he quickly jumps off of Ginny as if she were fire. You and Ginny let out a giggle, as he runs for the door.

"Oi, there you are mate, we need to pack," you hear Ron tell Harry out in the hall.

You can hear them run up the next flight as you and Hermione quickly pack your bags to depart.

Ginny was upset to be left behind, she wanted to come with you guys. But Hermione pointed out to her that if we all left then Fred and George will think we left because of them, plus Ginny didn't really have a good excuse to leave. Hermione argued that her and Ron were prefects, and Harry had to go talk to Umbridge for Angelina. Hermione needn't tell Ginny why you couldn't stay, but Ginny knew. And she helped you two pack despite a minor tantrum.

Once you and Hermione were packed, you two headed downstairs, Ron and Harry waiting for you two by the fireplace.

"I've already told, Mum, she said we can take the floo to Hogsmeade, and we'll just walk back to Hogwarts from there," Ron said.

He handed out floo powder, and one by one you all quickly disappeared into the green flames.

__________________________

The trip to Hogwarts was easy enough, especially once Hermione cast a charm to make your trunk weightless. You kept reminding yourself to have someone teach you that charm, especially since it would make your life infinitely easier.

As you entered the castle, you headed towards Hufflepuff, hoping to sneak a scone from the kitchen before dropping your things off.

Hermione told you to meet her in the Gryffindor common room once you unpacked, to help her create the potion for your leg. You figured you had about 30 minutes to freshen up before needing to meet her.

After you unpacked, you decide to put on some Terry cloth shorts and a sweatshirt. It was still the holiday after all, which meant robes were unnecessary. You quickly made the giant bed you and Emily shared, before lighting some candles to alleviate the musty smell the room had acquired after being vacant. You make a quick glance around the room, observing it, before stepping out.

Once you reach the Gryffindor entrance, you tell the Fat Lady the code for the week before stepping into the Common Room.

Ron was sitting on the couch as you walk in, "Mione had to run to the Potions room to sneak an ingredient, she should be back soon."

"Splendid."

You walk over to the couch Ron is on, and sit down cross legged facing the fire. That's one of the things you loved about the Gryffindor Common Room, the fireplace. It was so warm and inviting to watch the organic fire bounce off the walls.

"So... why Malfoy?" the red headed boy asks you, his face similarly twisted as Fred's, though less disgust crossing his features.

"Well, I don't know. He helped me a bit with Astronomy when I first got here.. it was kind of an accident the first time. But Blaise is dating Emily, so I see him a lot, ya know? It's like how Ginny always sees Harry, I guess."

"Well yeah but Ginny isn't dating Harry," Ron responds matter of factly.

"Uhm- right.. so anyway, it just kind of happened. I didn't mean to let him mark me, it just got... out of hand. Caught in the moment, ya know?" you say to Ron, nibbling your bottom lip nervously.

"Is Malfo-" he starts, before the Gryffindor entrance is thrown open.

You both look up to see Hermione rush in, her cauldron filled to the brim with ingredients. Some you can identify, some are foreign. She quickly sits down in front of you and Ron on the floor, promptly spreading her treasures out in front of her.

"Don't mind me, keep talking," she says, lost in her potion.

"What were you going to ask, Ron?" you say, turning half your attention back to him.

"Oh, erm, nothing. Nothing at all," he says, and you look over to see his face red as a beet.

Weird.

You move past Ron's awkward state and watch Hermione begin the potion. It appeared she's brewing Wiggenweld Potion, until she adds a small drop of a clear liquid, almost watery.

"Hermione, what is that?" you ask

"Phoenix tears, well a tear," she responds in a low voice.

"Hermione, how did you get that?" Ron demands, his eyes large as she begins to stir the potion.

"Dumbledore gave me a small vial last year after the Triwizard Tournament. We both agreed Harry was far too reckless for me to not have some on hand. I've got another vial hidden in my room." she says, as if this were common knowledge.

Phoenix tears were hard to come by, and increasingly rare. Especially seeing as Dumbledore and Fawkes disappeared some time after Christmas break.

After what appeared the 17th stir of the potion, a small puff of smoke spit out of the cauldron.

"It's done," she whispered, seemingly amazed at her own talent.

"What's done?" a voice quips as the Gryffindor entrance is pushed open, revealing Harry had joined the group.

"The potion to fix Poppy's scar," Ron answers.

"Scar?" Harry asks confused.

"RONALD!" you yell at him, letting your hand swing in his direction, "Some secrets aren't yours to tell!!"

His face turns red as you make contact with his arm, and his hand shoots up to soothe the spot. "Moo," he whispers at you, as you struggle to contain yourself.

Hermione ignores your altercation, facing her attention towards Harry, "We can use it on your scar if you'd like Harry?"

You watch as he subconsciously raises his hand to his forehead, fingers touching the lightening bolt on it. 

"No thanks, I've grown rather fond of it," he says quietly.

The three of you nod, knowing it to be an integral part of Harry Potter. 

"Well, I think its time we test it then," Hermione says as she pushes onto her feet. "Come on, let's go to the Prefect bathroom to try it. That way if something goes wrong we can rinse it off quickly, plus it's closer to the hospital wing if necessary..." she finishes, trailing off.

Your eyes get wide at the thought of your leg melting off in the Prefect bathroom.

"Kidding, Poppy, kidding!" she exclaims, but you see her bite her lip as she looks away, and you're uncertain of how this will go.

You quickly stand up, knowing that it's now or never, choking your fears back down.


	36. Healing

The four of you found yourself in the Prefect's bathroom, you for the first time. The bathroom was amazing, the bathtub the size of a small swimming pool. You and Ron sat on the edge of the tub while Harry began filling it. Bubbles filled the air, and the air began to warm, growing steamy.

Harry now sat next to Ron, the two of them letting their legs float in the tub. Hermione pulled a vial of her potion out of her pocket, and stared at it nervously. You could feel your stomach churning, nervous of her expressions.

"Okay, well, can you lift your shorts so I can apply it?" she says awkwardly.

You stand up, pulling your shorts hem as high as they'll go, before realizing it wont come up high enough to show the scar. 

I swore these would work.

You let out a sigh and eye Ron and Harry as you pull your shorts off before sitting back down. You lay your leg flat on the tubs edge, and use your discarded shorts to cover yourself as best you can. 

Now isn't the time for nerves

Harry does his best to appear as if he isn't looking, but Ron shows no such curtsey. Hermione uncaps the vial and tells Ron to hold your hand before she begins to apply the liquid to your scar.

You watch as the light green liquid drips from the vial, hitting your scar. You feel fine, and wonder why you're even holding Ron's hand in the first place.

Until the stinging begins. It feels as if your flesh were rotting, each letter growing redder and redder as the potion washes over it. You squeeze Ron's hand and bite your lip to keep from screaming. The pain is so severe, so unbearable that you were certain the leg was a lost cause.

"Bloody hell, Poppy," Ron groans as you crush his fingers in your hand.

"Poppy, I know it hurts, but the scar is lifting.." Hermione says to you encouragingly.

You can feel your head grow weak, and you're certain you're going to pass out from the pain, light filling your eyes.

You can taste blood in your mouth, you must have bitten your lip too hard. The pain is so surreal that you don't even notice someone had entered the bathroom until you hear their voice.

"Oh- didn't realize this is where the blood traitors hosted their weekly orgy," you hear the shrill voice say.

"Oh shove off, Pansy," you hear Harry spit through gritted teeth.

Pansy.

The pain is still so sharp, and you keep your eyes closed, focusing on the voices, hoping it keeps your brain from giving out.

"Not sure I'd last that long if I had to look at her twisted face," she responds. You think she's talking about you, but you can't bare to open your eyes. 

"Don't you have an STD test to take?" Ron spits at the girl, and you're thankful for his defense.

"Needing to find new hobbies now that your boyfriend's dead, Harry? Cedric was it?" she says through a vile giggle, and your stomach burns at her words for Harry and Emily.

"Your boyfriend is the reason we're in this mess! Or didn't you know that he was sneaking around behind your back?" Harry yells at her, and you fight back the vomit rising in your stomach, though you're unsure if it's from the pain or his revelation to Pansy.

As a pain shoots down your leg, you can feel your shorts being ripped off your lap. And the cold air causes you some relief to the pain riddled area.

A sharp breath in startles you, and a hand reaches to claw into your thigh. You let out a scream, as you finally succumb to the pain before passing out.

_____________________________

You woke up, wet, but warm. Your eyes flutter open to see you're now sitting in the bathtub, as you lean into Harry. 

What happened?

"Oh, glad you're finally awake, Poppy. You missed quite the show." Ron says, and you look over to see him swimming in the tub shirtless.

You look down and see you're still in your sweatshirt, though you're unsure what your legs look like. Harry seems to be fully clothes as well, but you can't seem to find Hermione. Your look of confusion must have been evident, because the story is being told before you can even form a proper question.

"Pansy saw Malfoy's initials on your leg when she pulled your shorts off. Though I think you were awake for that bit. Anyway, she got rabid like she does, and grabbed your leg rather harshly, I think that caused you to pass out..." Harry offers.

"But not before you screamed loud enough for the whole castle to hear," Ron adds on as he paddles over to you and Harry.

"Ah yes. That actually sent Hermione over the edge, she punched Pansy in the face before threatening to hex her," Harry finishes, looking proud as tells the story.

"Where's Hermione?" you mutter, a soreness in your throat becoming relevant.

"Well she ran to grab some muggle medicine for you to ease the pain. Though the scar was gone before she left," Ron says to you, an eager look across his face.

Your eyes light up at this, and you ask Harry to help you stand up to examine the mark.

Ron was right.

The spot on your thigh which had once held Draco's initials on it was now clear. Though the complexion was slightly more pink than usual, they were gone. All that was left was an uneven circle where the potion had been applied.

"Wow," was all you could mutter. It was perfect. No one would know what had once been there, unless they knew what had once been there.

You let your thumb trace the spot, and could feel that the skin was slighted elevated, still raw from the potion, but better.

"Hermione did excellent," Harry remarked, as if he were seeing the spot for the first time as well. "Now that you're awake though I think we should leave, don't need Pansy coming back."

"What about Mione?" Ron asks

"I'll send her a Patronus that we're going to Poppy's room, she can meet us there."

Harry stands stands out of the tub, and puts loops your arm through his, carrying your weight. You're silently thankful, as your leg is sore. He helps you hobble to the door before turning back to Ron who is climbing out of the tub. 

As you two wait for Ron, he quickly casts his stag and you watch the light stamp out of the room.

"Come on, Ron. We haven't gotten all day," he says to the ginger. And Ron quickly puts his shirt back on before taking your other arm around his neck. 

The two boys walk with you silently to Hufflepuff, and you tell Harry how to open the entrance. He taps the barrels quickly and you enter the Common Room, golden sunlight dancing across the bricks.

The trip up the stairs is difficult, and you find yourself wincing as you're forced to put weight on the finicky leg. Once you reach your room, Ron pushes the door open and the boys lead you to the bed.

You throw your body onto the middle of it, and invite them to sit down. Ron quickly makes himself comfortable, resting his head on a pillow while Harry sits towards the edge, stiff as a board. You're thankful you made the bed before you left, and you shift towards the head of the bed, finding your own pillow to lean into.

As you lay down, you can feel your body relax as the strain is lifted from your leg.

Hermione opens your door quickly, and you're tankful she remembered how to enter the common room, not knowing if you'd be able to make it up and down another flight of stairs. The girl rushes to your side of the bed and pulls the waistband of your shorts down, studying the spot on your leg.

"Perfect. How do you feel?" she asks, a worried look crossing her face.

"A little sore, but not bad. Thank you so much, Mione," you say sleepily, shooting a small smile towards her.

She conjures a glass of water from your bathroom and offers you some pain medicine. You greedily swallow the little red pills and slide over, letting her onto the bed.

"Are you tired, Poppy?" she asks, petting your hair like a worried mom.

You nuzzle into her, and let her touch comfort you.

"Do you guys want to stay here tonight?" you offer, not wanting Hermione to leave, but knowing the boys helped you as well.

"I was going to offer to stay to keep an eye on your leg," Hermione says. "Boys, will you be staying as well?"

""m already comfortable 'Mione," Ron mumbles into the pillow.

You look up at Harry who rolls his eyes with a smile, and he pulls out his wand, enlarging the bed just slightly, as he lays down on Ron's other side. 

"Don't want to be spooned by Ron all night," he says in explanation. 

You let a small smile cross your face, and you burrow your face deeper into Hermione's chest, closing your eyes and letting the sound of Ron's snores lull you to sleep.


	37. Sunlight

The next morning came quick, though it wasn't Ron's snoring that woke you up, rather a flush from the bathroom that signaled a guest.

You rubbed your eyes before prodding them open, and saw the light spilling from underneath the door. Getting a quick headcount, you saw that everyone was still asleep. You sat up carefully, trying not to rattle anyone awake. Unfortunately, Hermione's eyes drifted open, and she sat up on high alert.

"Don't worry Hermione, it's probably just Emily," you say, gently pushing her back down.

"No, no, it's okay. Let me just check your scar and then wake the boys. It's got to be late morning by now anyway," she says quietly.

You pull the waistband of your shorts and see the scarred spot look's much better. It's no longer pink and raised, but rather a lighter tone than the surrounding area, and the agitation had gone quite a bit.

She hands you two more little red pills and the glass of water, "just so you can put weight on it."

You swallow the little pills as the bathroom door opens, and you see your blonde friend step out.

"Sorry, I was trying not to wake you," she whispers across the room.

You look at Emily and smile, before reaching your arms out and shaking Ron rapidly. "s'okay Em, they were leaving!"

Ron jolts awake and throws his body upwards in one fluid motion, upon feeling this, Harry is soon awake as well, his eyes wild as he reaches for his glasses.

"Bloody hell, Poppy. And to think I let you be the big spoon last night!" he growls at you.

You let out a laugh, unexpectedly whole. 

"Sorry Ron, but Emily's here, and Mione said you were all leaving."

"Bloody Hermione, what time even is it?"

"It's 9:45, Ronald, if you and Harry don't hurry we'll miss breakfast," Hermione scolds.

At the mention of food, Ron is quickly out of bed, and dragging Harry up with him. 

"Well c'mon Mione, you know I'm starving," Ron says impatiently, forcing you to let out another laugh.

Hermione follows Ron and Harry out, after sending a quick wave your direction and softly shutting your door.

"Well hello!!" Emily says excitedly as she rushes towards you on the bed. "I've missed you so much!!!"

"Hello Em, I've missed you too," you tell her with a smile. "When did you get in?"

"Oh, last night around... 11? I stayed with Blaise," she responds with a smirk. "I heard you sent Pansy into quite the tizzy..." 

Your eyes get big, you had completely forgotten about Pansy's outburst in the bathroom. Forgotten even about Harry's.

"Well tell me what that troll said, and then I'll give the corrected version."

"Okay, so. Blaise and I are laying in his bed, and it's just him and Draco staying there during break, have you seen Draco? Anyways, so we're messing around, and Draco is asleep, so we've got the curtains pulled around the bed and cast 'muffliato.' When their door bursts open, so we stop and get still thinking it's the headboy who's caught us. So we're not moving and then the loudest, shrillest scream erupts, and it's Pansy obviously. She must not have known we were there, but she starts yelling at Draco about 'dipping his dick in halfblooded Americans.' Obviously you. And he stutters and tries to tell her that's not true, and then SHE tells him that she just saw you in the Prefect's bathroom with his initials on you ." Emily spits out, not stopping for a breathe once.

"Okay, uhmmm, pretty true. Actually surprised with Pansy. Except there was a lot of back and forth before that. Hermione was helping me get the scar off, so we were in the bathroom with Harry and Ron. It was extremely painful, and Pansy grabbed my thigh so I passed out. Harry said Hermione punched her," you add to the story, not sure of the importance of these details.

You look over to Emily and watch her eyes grow large with disbelief. "Seriously?!"

"Well I was unconscious, but I'd assume so," you reply with a smirk, wishing you got to witness it yourself.

"What did Draco say?" you ask Emily nervously, tasting blood in your mouth.

"He told Pansy something about her being jealous that she got marked where he didn't have to look at her face when he saw it. Like your mark was more intimate than hers?" Emily answers as she tries to relay last nights events. "But after Pansy left, Draco told us he knew we were awake. And he asked me if you were trying to go public since you were showing it off."

"I am NOT showing it off! Hermione was trying to get rid of it!!!" you exclaim 

"Well obviously I know that NOW, but Draco has no clue. I thought you liked it?" Emily asks, face twisted with confusion.

"Well I didn't mind it, until... well until Fred saw." you mumble 

"Dangerously close to uncharted territory, aren't we Pops?" she says with a smirk in her voice.

"Well erm- yes. He got me this charm after he saw I got rid of my last one, and then he just admitted all of his feelings for me, and that was fine but I wasn't going to act on anything ya know. Like if either boy really wanted me they'd make an effort. And then Fred and I made out in the chicken coop, and then again by the pond... and that was when he saw it. I was definitely going to have sex with him. And then he saw it and freaked out. It was so embarrassing."

"So are you gonna tell Draco then? About Fred?"

"Hell no! Last time I went to Draco to end things, Fred walked in!! Plus apparently Draco marks everyone, he can give up one of his toys," you respond dryly. 

"Fair enough," she responds. "I always thought Fred was the better option anyway."

___________________

You and Emily had missed breakfast, but got dressed and headed to lunch early, she was going to help you study for your OWLs. Even though it was your sixth year, you had never taken the exam before, and Dumbledore was requesting you take them this year. You hadn't spoken to Umbridge about it since Dumbledore left, but you figured it was still best. 

Once you two sat in the Great Hall, Emily filled both of your plates with food while you made some tea for the two of you. You were never much of a tea drinker, but Emily figured this would be a good start to studying, by reading your tea leaves. As you two munch on the sandwiches she put on your plates, you start to shuffle through your bag, making sure you didn't forget anything important. 

"We're avoiding Fred right?" she asks you in a whisper.

"Yes, why?" you respond, not bringing your eyes up from your bag.

"Why what?" 

Fuck.

You knew the voice without needing to match it to a face, George. It would have been fine if it were just George, but you knew that were never the case. Standing a step behind him and to the side was Fred. 

He looked ill. Like he might throw up at any moment, and you felt your own stomach lurch knowing it was because of you. 

"You left," George says, a twinge of sadness coating his words.

"Yes, well uhm, Ron and Hermione had to come back for Prefect duties, and Harry had to speak to Umbridge and I-"

"I asked Poppy to come back early to help me complete a potions assignment," Emily finishes. And you look up at her, thankful for her excuse.

You turn to look at George seeing if he bought the lie, which he seemingly did. Because he sat down next to Emily, leaving Fred with only a spot next to you.

You shift in your seat uncomfortably, knowing how terribly this all was going. So bad so quick. 

You focus your attention back on your sandwich while Emily tells George all about her trip to China. 

As you take little nibbles, Fred coughs next to you, and you carefully turn your attention towards him. "Can we talk?"

Your stomach flips and your chest tightens, scared, nervous. But you agree and follow him out into the hallway. 

"Meet me in the library when you're done!" you hear Emily shout from behind you. 

As you trail behind Fred, you catch the glance of a blonde haired boy out of the corner of your eye.

You follow Fred through the castle, unsure of where you're going. And you try to focus on the same magical things that amazed you during your first walkthrough the castle. You watch Peeves chase a group of second years down the hall. Until a small wooden door appears in the wall.

The Room of Requirement.

Fred opens the door and stands to the side, holding it open for you to walk in. You can hardly will your feet to move, stumbling through the door. He waits patiently and you eventually find yourself completely in the room. You look around at what the space has become, it's different from the room you use to hold Dumdledore's Army meetings. This time it's got a long maroon couch, a small bathroom, and some floor pillows thrown across the floor. 

The perfect place to end things. Nothing luxurious. Simple.

You force your way to the couch, wanting to get this over with as soon as possible. Wanting to retreat back to your room quickly, you sit down on the overstuffed couch, sinking into it unexpectedly. Your face contorts a bit, wondering why it's so soft.

"I just asked for a comfortable place to talk," Fred says, answering your silent question.

You nod and look at him, waiting for the words to spill out of his mouth, bracing yourself for the pain.

"Poppy, I- I want to see it." he says.

You can feel your face screw up at his request but stand anyway, pulling your jeans down in front of the boy. You're not nervous, he's already seen this much, and it is obvious this isn't sexual. You slide your jeans off over your thighs, letting them rest around your knees, not pulling them all the way down.

You watch his face, eyes closed as you shimmy the jeans down, watch his chest rise and fall as he manages breathes. You don't know why you don't tell him what Hermione did, you don't really think it matters. There's no point in trying to change his mind.

His eyes stay closed, but the waiting is killing you. Moments pass by before you call his name.

Fred takes one more deep breathe before opening his eyes. He moves closer to you, his head level with the spot on your thigh.

"Where is it? Did you glamour it?" he asks curiously.

"Uhm, no. Hermione found a potion to take the scar out." you say quietly.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want to force anything on you. George said to give you time. And you looked so upset and disgusted when you saw it. It wasn't my place to tell you how to feel," you respond, looking at his eyes while he focuses on the spot.

Silence filled the room, and you shift uncomfortably as his hand reaches out and brushes the skin. You wince, it wasn't that the spot hurt. But his touch did.

Fred looks up at you carefully, an indistinguishable look in his eyes, "Well this makes it easier." 

He slowly stands, hovering over you. You brace yourself for the words, the hurt to fill the room.

But it doesn't come. 

Because he's kissing you, slow and gentle, and you can hear your heartbeat flutter in your ears.

You pull away, "are we...okay?" 

"Yes, Lovey. I- I just needed to think on it. George reminded me that you picked me the first time, and then you picked me again. I shouldn't have been upset for how you handled things when I was seeing Angelina. I was just going to try to get over the scar was all," he says with certainty. 

You let a fragile smile cross your lips, your hand cups his jawline, and you allow your thumb to rub his face. Fred closes his eyes at your touch and nuzzles his head into your hand gently. 

We're going to get this right.


	38. Quarrel

A few weeks had passed since the incident over Easter, and things had been going well with Fred. The term seemed to drag on, but between stolen kisses during potions, and late nights in the Astronomy Tower, you were happy with your new relationship. Fred often held your hand between classes, and your new found romance only grew more enjoyable as time progressed. But he was completely respectable as well, things seemed to be moving at a snails pace physically, and it was making you restless. 

You saw him less and less as of late, seeing as Dumbledore's Army had been disbanded after Umbridge caught them during a meeting. All of your friends got caught, but as you had only attended one meeting, no one seemed to pay you any thought. You avoided detention, but it left a sticky feeling in your stomach knowing all your friends would have to suffer.

The group was due to write lines for Umbridge, and you knew Harry had tried to prep everyone as best as he could. Most had no idea the hatred her detention would cause, the pain. Their detention was to last through dinner, so you joined Emily for the meal as usual, twisting your hands as you watched the time pass.

"He'll be okay Poppy, I'm sure. He's tough," the blonde witch whispered.

"I know, I'm just.. I feel so guilty that I'm not there," you respond, furrowing your eyebrows.

"I know, but Poppy, things have been going down at Hogwarts long before you got here. This is above you, and one meeting doesn't indict you," she says, attempting to explain the brevity of the situation.

You nod, thinking back to all the stories you had heard of the past years. She was right of course. One meeting with Dumbledore's Army was above you. You were barely a pawn in the game. You continued to push roasted potatoes across your plate until you see the hall finally start to empty. 

Standing up, you quickly hurry to where Fred's detention was, saying a goodbye to Emily. You can feel your heart race as you quicken your pace, making sure you meet him before he wanders back to the Gryffindor Common Room. You turn a corner and see him and George on a bench, a small boy sitting between them as he cried.

You slowed your pace, not wanting to intrude on the moment. George and Fred were both facing toward the scared boy, trying to ease him, and you could tell her was crying about the pain from the quill as he rubbed his hand.

"The pain stops after a while," you hear George say to the sniffling boy.

"Look, it's already starting to fade," Fred ensures him.

A cross of feelings spreads through you, and you're unsure which feeling is more prominent. The sweetness of the twins made your heart warm, they were so kind, so sweet. But a growing anger started to fill your stomach as you grew angry at the hateful witch that Umbridge was. As you felt your stomach boil, the pink witch appeared, glancing at the two boys during their interaction. The lack of remorse across her face was glaring, and you heard a small scoff from behind you. You turned your head to see its owner.

Harry.

"As I've told you once before Mr. Potter, naughty boys deserve to be punished," Umbridge retorts towards Harry, who's now standing next to you.

Your eyes grow wide and you bite back the bile in your throat.

Disgusting, cruel, sadistic woman.

"You know George, I've always felt our futures lie outside the world of academics," your twin says steadily.

"Fred, I was thinking exactly the same thing."

Nothing good ever came from a Weasley plan, but you couldn't agree with them more. Whatever they were concocting, Umbridge had it coming.

_______________________

Your OWL was planned for the end of the week, and you spent a majority of your time with Hermione in the library, as you two studied for the Theory of Charms test you'd have together. Luckily the test wouldn't focus on actual execution of these spells, just the logistics of them. Your charm skills were still average at best, but with Hermione as a tutor, you knew you'd pass the test with flying colors. 

The night before the test, you found yourself sitting by the Black Lake with Fred as he quizzed you with the flash cards Hermione had made. 

"Lovey, must we keep this up?" he whined, leaning into you as he said it.

"Yes, Freddie. I need to be on level for next year!"

You watched him pout his lip at you, and you fought the urge to kiss him. The moonlight was doing you no favors, reminding you of the nights you had spent next to the pond at the Burrow. You decided one kiss wouldn't hurt anything, and you lean over to him, hearing his breathe quicken as he prepares himself.

"Bloody low stands, Kennedy. Even Potter was better than this Weasel," you hear a familiar voice quip.

A groan fights your teeth as you try to settle yourself, trying to ignore Malfoy's remark. You managed to avoid him since break ended, and you were perfectly content ignoring the situation with him completely. You try to focus on your moment with Fred, allowing his presence to soothe you. But you had forgotten about him in the process, forgotten about his reaction, as you were too focused on your own.

You're brought back to reality as you feel Fred pull away from you, standing on his feet abruptly. 

"Watch your words, Malfoy, you're lucky you're still standing," the red headed boy threatens as he towers over Draco.

"Want to control your Weasel?" you hear a shrill voice say from behind Draco.

Pansy. 

You might have been able to manage Draco and Fred. But Pansy was a hurricane, and you stood no chance managing all three. Her vulgar words about Fred sent resentment through your body, the tone of her voice was spewing with disgust and you hated how degraded they may have made Fred feel.

"Coming from the girl who can't get a grip on her own," you say towards her, trying to dismiss her.

"And what does that mean?" she says, confusion crossing her face.

"It means that while Malfoy was bending over anything he could, you left your legs spread like a stupid girl thinking he was yours," you spit back, allowing the fire in your stomach to spread, suddenly feeling invincible.

You watch as Pansy's eyes cross, while she decides her next tactic. And you slowly become aware that both boys attention has shifted to you and Pansy, ignoring their former quarrel.

"Can't properly blame him when you live up to all the rumors. American girls really are sluts," she spits at you. And the fire in your stomach is wildfire, as you feel hot heat growing in your hands. 

Your legs move without permission, as you close the gap between you and the pug faced girl. You stand in front of her, staring at her, waiting for her to correct herself before you make a rash decision.

"I'd be careful, Parkinson. This American slut didn't grow up in private schools, kicking around house elves for fun."

"No, just spreading her legs when a boy breathes in her direction," she says back testy.

Your hand reaches for her, and you grab a chunk of the fried brown hair, pulling it down hard, watching as she drops to the ground. The action is quick, and you remain planted firmly as she looks up at you from the ground, a dangerous glare in her eyes. You stare down at her and feel your chest heave from the rage burning inside.

"Blimey, Pops. You're giving me a hard on." You hear in your mind, as you remember the blonde boys knack for magic. You roll your eyes hard into your skull and try to remind yourself that it was silent, that Fred remains unaware. That you'd like to keep it that way.

Lost in your thoughts, you feel a hard kick to your ankle and it gives out from under you. The pain blooming as you become painfully aware that Pansy has decided to fight back. Driven by anger, you throw your body on top of hers, trying to plant her down as she fights back, thrashing against your body. 

Pansy tried to force her body on yours, but your quick decision caught her off guard and gave you the upper hand. You used your knee to dig her wrists into the ground, the girl put up quite a fight, but you ultimately won. As she lay underneath you growling nasty words at you, and you had finally had enough of her voice filling the air, throwing your fist back before letting it connect with her eye. 

Upon impact, you felt a bone snap in one of your fingers, and you grit your teeth down to prevent any tears from spilling. You pull your fist back, ready to strike the girl again, before long arms wrap around your waist and you find yourself in the air.

"Alllriightt Poppy, let's get you out of here, before you do something you regret," you hear Fred say, his voice brushing against your ear as he holds you from behind.

You kick your legs twice before he sets you back down, and you shoot a dangerous glance at him for intervening. You take a few steps towards the castle before turning to Pansy and Draco. Draco is still standing off the the side, a lustful look at you, leaving Pansy laying on the ground in shock.

"Always a surprise with you, Love," Draco says towards you, before shooting a small wink your direction.

You can feel your chest tighten at his boldness, and you spit on the ground near Pansy. 

"Fuck off," you shoot at the Slytherins. "Grab my flash cards, Fred." You say, stopping towards the castle without turning back. You chest heaves as you fight back tears, you hated fighting. And you hated feeling this way. Even if they deserved it. You don't stop walking until you enter the courtyard, finally finding a moment to catch your breathe.

You find a bench and let your hands fall into your palms as you sit down, your ragged breathe fighting your tears for dominance. 

"Are you sure you're a Hufflepuff?" Fred asks as he sits next to you.

"Houses aren't sorted by personality, they're sorted by which traits you value," you mutter through your palms.

"Ah, I see Hermione's let you borrow Hogwarts: A History then?" he says, a small laugh escaping him as he tries to make light of the situation.

Your head stays in your hands as you focus on meditating, letting air fill your lungs before slowly releasing it. After a few moments you lift your head up and look to Fred, seeing him watch you intently.

"I'm sorry," you whisper to him, embarrassed about your temper.

"Don't be sorry, Lovey. You were brilliant," he says, and you see a wide small cross his face as he looks at you with what you can only describe as pride. "Can I look at your hand? And how's your ankle."

"'s fine," you mumble.

You hold your hand out, only now aware of the pain of the broken digit. Fred grabs your hand and slowly moves each finger, gently stretching them as he massages your tense palm. When he finds the broken finger, your pinky, he leans down and kisses it softly. And you can feel your heart sore at his tender kiss.

"Let's go to Gryffindor really quickly and I can grab a potion to heal this, we can't waste all of our studying just for you to take 5 hours to complete the exam."

He stands up, and reaches a hand out towards you, and you lace your unscathed hand around his. The toned man leads you towards Gryffindor and you wait outside the entrance until he comes back, not wanting to explain your broken hand to your Gryffindor friends.

You lean against the wall, and study the swollen finger as you wait for Fred. Within a few moments he steps out of the Gryffindor entrance, his twin trailing behind you.

"Bloody hell, Poppy! Fred told me what happened! Are you sure you're a Hufflepuff?" George exclaims, pushing past his twin, and you roll your eyes at him with a small smile. The two were so predictable.

Fred kneels in front of you and reaches for your hand, turning it around before handing you a small vial of skele-gro. You bring the vial to your lips and take a sip of it, fighting back a gag at the nasty potion. 

"Disgusting, isn't it?" George asks with a smirk. You nod in response before finishing the potion and handing it to Fred.

"Thanks Freddie," you say, staring at your feet, still embarrassed by your outburst.

"Anything for you," your lover replies as he kisses your forehead tenderly. "Now lets get you to your room, we've got a big day tomorrow."

And you look up at him finally, watching as him and George share a knowing look.


End file.
